Golden Boy
by Dragonmaster1
Summary: Slash. Major AU. Xander is found as a baby and raised by a pack of vampires who move into Sunnydale.
1. Prologue: Greece

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Title: **Golden Boy**

Author: Dragonmaster

Rating: Hard R.

Genre: Drama/Romance

Fandom: BtVS

Feedback: Yes, please. or 

Distribution: Nummy Treats archive, Moist and Delicious. Anyone else, just ask.

Pairing(s): Spike/Xander, Buffy/Angel, Willow/Tara.

Spoilers: None that I can think of. Dru is Spike's Sire.

Warnings: Slash, Alternate Universe.

Disclaimer: Pray to Joss, for he created the Buffyverse.

Summary: Major AU. Xander is found as a baby and raised by a pack of vampires who move into Sunnydale.

Golden Boy

By: Dragonmaster

Prologue: Greece, 1980.

William the Bloody was having the time of his unlife.

When Drusilla had expressed her desire to visit the white city of Athens, Spike hadn't exactly shared her enthusiasm; he was quite content to remain in his home city of London, where his name was a legend. When he told Dru this, she simply smiled coyly and proceeded to persuade him. A week later, the Master, his lover, and his pack arrived in Greece.

Spike watched in amusement as the man whom he had just been feeding from gasp for air and crawl toward the door. The vampire still had the man's wife and child captive, but he no longer seemed to care. Spike let his prey reach the door before pouncing. He darted in and tore the Grecian's throat out with his fangs, his victim's scream abruptly cut off.

Contently licking blood off his hands, Spike turned to the young woman and her child, letting the corpse drop to the floor with a dull thud. She was attractive, probably only nineteen or twenty, with bright, liquid brown eyes and shimmering black hair. She looked at him, meeting his alarmingly blue eyes without any trace of fear. She was past fear now; Spike could see the look of defeat in her eyes. The baby too, was remarkably quiet.

"What? No screaming? No begging for y'life?" Spike asked, his voice a sultry purr. He prowled around the young woman, his amusement easily visible on his angular features.

The woman shrugged. "What is the purpose?" she said tiredly in strongly accented English. "You are just going to kill me anyway."

Spike nodded. "True. Just unusual." He turned his attention to the baby in her arms. The infant met his gaze with bright chocolate coloured eyes and cooed quietly.

A faint smile appeared on the vampire's face as he reached out and gently brushed the babe's cheek with his fingertips. "He's a good li'l Nibblet," he said softly. "Wot's 'is name?"

The woman hesitated before answering. "Alexander."

"That's not a Greek name."

"His father was American." She studied Spike intently. "What are you waiting for?" she asked.

Spike raised his scarred eyebrow. "You to start begging," he replied. "It's not as fun without audience participation."

She stared defiantly into his blue eyes. "Spare my son," she said quietly. Spike blinked in surprise. He had seen mothers offer their children to him in order to be spared, yet this woman did not seem to fear death.

Picking up the baby, Spike morphed into his gameface, mouth millimetres away from the infant's neck. "What makes you think I will?"

The woman closed her eyes. "You still have humanity left in you; I can feel it."

A chill ran up Spike's spine and he lifted his head to stare suspiciously at the young woman. "What are you?" he hissed.

"Human; as is my child."

For the second time that night, Spike had doubts about killing the girl. Adjusting the baby in his arms, he stood warily. Alexander giggled and patted Spike's cheek, distracting the vampire for a split second.

The young woman stood and caressed her baby's head, tears starting to form in her eyes. "Take him and go," she whispered. "I do not have the money to support him, and he would only suffer in a foster home. At least with you, he will be safe."

Bewildered, Spike stared at her, then back at the infant, who had fallen asleep on his shoulder. "What makes you think I won't kill you?" he asked, his voice equally quiet.

"Your thoughts give you away," she responded. Abruptly, she backed away, eyes widening with fear. She pushed Spike and Alexander roughly toward the door, shoving both infant and vampire out into the hallway.

"Oi! What the bloody hell do you-"

"You must go, now!" the woman said urgently. "Your pack has been discovered, your Sire has been killed!"

Spike stopped as if he were hit, shock dulling his senses. It couldn't be true; Drusilla was safely guarded by three of his strongest minions! "How do you know this?" he snarled, rage replacing his shock.

"I am a mind-reader, a telepath." She quickly glanced down the hall. "There is no time to talk, the guards have already reached this building. Go!"

Spike's survival instinct took over, moving all other emotions aside. Tightening his grip on the child, the British vampire took one final look at the young woman. "I will take care of the boy," he promised her before turning and racing down the hall and out of the building, vowing to once again return to Greece. Blood would run freely in the streets as William the Bloody avenged his dark princess' death.


	2. It's All About Trust

Chapter One: Sunnydale, California: Seventeen years later.

Dalton was sure he was going to die. He never should have let his young charge go off hunting with Damien, Master Spike's headstrong fledgling. Now both the boy and the young vampire had failed to return to the lair and it was almost sunrise. The scholarly vampire cursed himself in as many languages as he knew as he ran through the cemetery, still searching frantically.

As Dalton raced past a large tombstone, he felt his knees buckle and he hit the ground hard. He tensed, waiting for the inevitable stake to come down and end his existence.

The stake never came. Dalton cautiously opened his eyes and saw a familiar pair of Birkenstock-covered feet just inches away from his face. The vampire sighed with relief as soft laughter reached his ears.

"You know, Dalton; you really need to lighten up."

Dalton glared at the young human. "I would 'lighten up' if you would stop making my unlife utterly miserable, young Alexander!" he muttered gruffly, taking Alexander's outstretched hand. "Where's Damien? You were supposed to stay with him!" he accused, covering up his fear for the boy's well-being with annoyance.

Xander rolled his eyes and brushed his long hair back from his face. He glared defiantly at the vampire whom had been his surrogate father ever since he had been taken from Greece seventeen years earlier. "You know he hates me. He's hated me ever since Spike named me his heir, rather than naming his own Childe." The boy shrugged. "It's his problem that Spike favours me, not mine."

Dalton sighed and brushed himself off, taking a quick glance at the sky. Apart from a bruised ego, he wasn't injured. "I know Damien can be difficult, but you must try to make peace with him. It'll only end up hurting you in the long run if you don't," the scholar pointed out. Xander grunted, but said nothing.

"Now, let's head back to the nest and hope Damien showed some sense and did the same; the sun will be up shortly. Oh, and go see Master Spike as soon as you get a moment. He wishes to discuss the matter of you attending school on Monday."

Xander looked up sharply. "School?" he repeated, confused. School had been the one thing he had been denied growing up. Dalton had tutored him for several hours each day in history, mathematics, english, and science, as well as teaching him vampire lore, but that was the extent of his education.

"Yes. Hasn't the Master mentioned it to you yet? No? Ah, well, I suppose he was waiting for the opportune moment. You know how he gets."

Xander nodded absently, blocking Dalton's chatter out from his mind. Mentally, he reached for Spike's mind, curious as to why the Master vampire had decided to allow him to go to school after all. Spike natural mental blocks, however, prevented the dark-eyed teen from probing further. Temporarily thwarted, Xander turned his attention back to Dalton.

"...hopes that you could get close to the Slayer," Dalton finished.

"A Slayer? That's why we're here?" Xander asked, stunned and a little hurt that Spike had kept this from him.

Dalton sighed. "Yes, Xander. That's what I've been saying. You need to start paying more attention, my boy."

"I'm not _your_ boy." The words were hissed out with more venom than Dalton had expected from the teen. "I'm Spike's in all but body," the whiskey-eyed boy continued. "I'll be fully his by my eighteenth birthday." With that, Xander quickened his stride and was soon far ahead of his foster-father.

The vampire let him go. He knew from many years of experience that Xander's mood swings were often as unpredictable as Master Spike's. The best thing Dalton could do was to give the longhaired boy space.

* * *

Xander arrived back at the temporary headquarters of what remained of the Order of Aurelius shortly before Dalton. The young telepath wasted no time and made a beeline for Spike's private quarters, ignoring the bows of respect he received from the minions and young vampires. Captive humans pleaded with him to show some mercy and release them, but Xander ignored them as well; they and the minions were nothing to him.

"Master Spike is expecting me," Xander announced as he approached the two vampire warriors guarding Spike's door. He wasn't required to tell the guards why he needed to see the Master vampire, but he always said something to them out of courtesy.

The taller of the two guards bowed low. "Of course, Liegen," he said, moving out of Xander's way. Nodding his thanks to the two males, the young man pushed the doors open and stepped inside.

The first thing that Xander noticed whenever he went into Spike's quarters was how good it always smelled. No matter how badly the rest of the lair smelled, Spike's rooms always had a pleasant scent to them. Candles lined the walls, providing both light and a pleasant scent of pine into the room.

Spike was lying on the bed with a newspaper in his hands, his upper body propped up with a pile of pillows. The red silk shirt he was wearing was unbuttoned and open, giving Xander a nice view of the older man's torso.

"I thought you hated reading the paper," Xander teased, briefly touching Spike's mind with his own in greeting.

The British vampire grunted. "They 'ave their uses," he allowed, carefully folding the newspaper and setting it down on the small table next to the bed. Xander chose that moment to crawl up onto the bed beside Spike and curl up next to him.

"Such as?"

"Making sure my wanker of a Childe hasn't done anything to draw any attention to our presence here," Spike purred as he gently nuzzled the boy's neck.

"Speaking of Damien, did he ever make it back here? He lost me up by the Sun Cinema."

"Yeah. He came strollin' in about ten minutes before you. Thought he was all 'igh an' mighty losing his Sire's heir," Spike growled, propping himself up on Xander's broad chest. "I believe I managed to convince him otherwise," he added with a feral grin. "But Damien isn't what you came to talk to me about, and I'm assuming this isn't just a social visit."

The longhaired boy broke eye contact; his gaze drifting to the newspaper lying on the table, then back to the sky blue eyes of his benefactor. He knew he could be direct with Spike, but was hesitant to do so. He was hurt that Spike had hid something as big as a Slayer's presence from him, but he did know that the Brit must've had a good reason to do so.

Rubbing the skin at the nape of Spike's neck, Xander looked the vampire squarely in the eyes. "Why didn't you tell me there was a Slayer here? Or that you were planning on sending me to school?"

Spike blinked, momentarily thrown off guard by the question and by the tone in Xander's voice. "Slayer? How did you- oh. Of course: Dalton." The Brit sighed and rolled off Xander's chest, propping himself up on one elbow. "I didn't want you knowing anything about this until I was certain that you were ready for this mission, and that I was ready to let you go," he finished quietly, taking the teen's hand in a rare gesture of affection.

"How did you manage to block me out mentally too? I didn't even pick up anything from Dalton, and his shields are worse than a newborn's."

Spike leaned over and picked up a small black object from the table and handed it to the younger man. "Psychic dampers," he explained as Xander examined the nondescript black box. "It blocks out telepathy to a certain degree. I made sure Dalton stayed within its range when he went looking for you and that tosser of a fledgling."

Xander looked up at Spike, shocked that the vampire had done this. How many other things had he kept hidden? How many things _will_ he hide? Taking great care not to let his inner turmoil and pain show on his face, the young telepath handed the damper back to the vampire. "What did I do to warrant this distrust, Master?" he asked calmly, using the formal title that only he did not have to use. For the first time in his life, Xander wondered where he really stood with Spike.

"I'm not 'Master,' pet, you know that," Spike said softly, reaching out to caress Xander's cheek. A look of pain crossed his face when the boy flinched away. "I do trust you; you're my heir and soon to be my Consort. I just didn't want you finding out too soon and rushing into things." The vampire leaned in and gently pressed his lips to Xander's temple, ignoring the younger male's squeak of protest. "I didn't want to risk you getting hurt, luv." With that, Spike crushed the delicate psychic inhibitor easily with one hand, letting the pieces fall to the floor.

Xander let out a sigh of relief as the blocks the damper had created were lifted. He could now be reassured that Spike was telling the truth; his thoughts would betray him if he were lying. Smiling, he allowed himself to relax once more, snuggling up close to Spike. He hesitated a moment before giving the smaller man a chaste kiss. Spike rarely allowed him to do so, and when he did, the kisses were short, almost platonic. It was frustrating for the teen, but his eighteenth birthday was only four months away. He could wait.

"So, about this Slayer..."


	3. Meeting the Slayer

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Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I shall give a cookie to all of you. Here's the next chapter, as promised. Constructive criticism is welcomed, flames shall be used to heat my flat.

Chapter Two

"Buffy, please pay attention! Just because patrolling has been slow lately does not mean that you can slack off on your training!" Rupert Giles said angrily.

Buffy Summers shot an apologetic look at her Watcher. "Sorry, Giles. Look, Willow's coming over to study for our history exam tonight; I'll make sure we get in some research on this Order, or whatever it is," she compromised.

Giles sighed. "It's not just the Order I'm worried-"

"Uh, hello?" a new voice said from the doorway of the library, cutting off the Watcher's impending lecture.

Buffy looked up, closing the book and slipping it into her bag. Research would have to wait. Smiling at the young man in the doorway, the Slayer got to her feet and walked over to him. "You must be new here. I'm Buffy Summers," she introduced herself.

The other teen flashed her a brilliant smile and shook her hand. "Xander Harris, and yeah, I'm new," he said, brushing his long sable hair out of his eyes. "I've got a free period now, so I thought I'd take a look around."

Buffy checked her watch. "Do you want some company? I could show you around and we could grab an early lunch," she offered, simultaneously letting her gaze drift over him. He was probably around six feet tall with long, thick sable hair that reached his shoulders. Dark brown eyes met Buffy's gaze with an intensity that startled her. Despite his broad shoulders, his light blue Phish t-shirt hung loosely on him and his tan cargo pants, worn Birkenstocks, and bronzed skin tone implied that he spent a lot of his time outdoors. _Not bad_, she thought to herself.

"Lunch sounds great," Xander replied, opening the door for her. He started off down the hallway, then stopped and turned back to Buffy with a sheepish grin on his face. "Um, which way is the cafeteria?"

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"So, what was your old school like?" Buffy asked once she and Xander had settled down at a table with their food.

"My old school?" Xander repeated. "Oh, I was home-schooled. My dad never really liked public schools, so he took over my education." The teen rolled his eyes. "My family can be kind of overprotective."

Buffy laughed. "It was still probably better than good ol' Sunnydale High," she said sardonically.

"I don't think it's that bad," Xander replied with a grin. "Except for the food, anyway." He pushed a greyish-brown slab of food around on his plate with a fork. "I still can't figure out what this is," he commented.

"I think it's tofu. The lunch ladies have had a vegetarian streak for the past week. I had hoped that it had ended." She took a bite of the corn and shrugged. "Some of it's not bad."

They chatted for a while longer and the more they talked, the more at ease Buffy felt. Whatever had set off her spidey-sense earlier couldn't have been Xander. The Slayer found herself enjoying his company; he was funny and easygoing, if not a little goofy. _Willow would love him_, Buffy thought as Xander went rambling off the topic of discussion yet again, a habit Willow did quite often.

"So, do you have a girlfriend?" Buffy asked casually. She hoped he didn't, so she could possibly hook him up with Willow.

"Nope," Xander replied with a wry smile. "Never had one. I'm gay."

That threw her. Buffy looked at her new friend in complete surprise. For once, the Slayer was at a loss for what to say. "Oh, um, that's cool," she said weakly. At Xander's embarrassed look, she immediately felt bad. "I'm sorry, Xan. I'm just kinda at one of those I Have No Idea What To Do In This Situation moments. It really is cool with me; I've just never met anybody who's gay before." She grinned at him. "Do you have a boyfriend, in that case?"

Xander's cheeks flushed a little. "Sort of. He's older than me, so he says he won't consider being with me until I turn eighteen," he said glumly, spearing a piece of tofu with his fork. Shaking off his pensive expression, he smiled slyly at Buffy. "Enough about my tragic love life," he said. "What about you? You got a boy waiting out there for you?"

Buffy smiled, her face automatically softening at the thought of her vampiric boyfriend, Angel. "Yeah, I do," she replied. "Some of my friends still think I'm a little crazy for dating him, but it's my choice, not theirs."

"An independent girl. If I were straight, I'd marry you," Xander said dramatically. Buffy laughed and finished off her Diet Sprite. Lunch was almost over, so the Slayer decided to head over to the computer lab and wait for Willow.

"What's your next class, Xan?" Buffy asked as she and Xander walked down the toneless, pale halls of Sunnydale High School.

Xander dug around in the pockets of his cargos and pulled out a battered piece of paper. Gingerly opening it, he quickly scanned its contents, making a face when he read what class was next. "Chemistry," he grumbled.

"Not a science fan?"

"Not particularly. It makes more sense to me than Algebra, but I still don't really understand it," he said, stuffing his schedule back into his pocket.

"Wait until you meet Willow," Buffy said. "She's a genius when it comes to science, and I'm sure she'd be willing to help you out."

As if on cue, a small, redheaded girl walked out of the lab, stuffing a notebook and a computer science textbook into her bag.

"Sorry I missed lunch," she apologised. "Miss Calendar let us work on our projects today, and I think I figured out the last formula, so I couldn't take the time to eat 'cause I might forget it, and I'm babbling in front of a complete stranger. Feel free to shut me up," she finished guiltily.

Buffy shot the other girl a grin. "It's okay, Wills. This is Xander Harris; he's new here. Xan, this is Willow Rosenburg."

"Hey," Xander said with a wave. "I hear you could maybe help me pass chemistry?"

Willow brightened. "No problem. Are you free tonight? Buffy and I were going to have a study night, so if you can, you could come over and have pizza or something."

"Sounds good. I'll just need directions," Xander replied as the trio walked down the hall to the science wing.

Buffy dug a pen out of her bag and took Xander's hand. "Here," she said, writing her address and phone number on the back of his hand. "Just call if you have any trouble finding it. Five-o-clock sound okay?"

Xander glanced at the address on his hand as they reached their next class. "Fine by me."

The three teens took their seats as Mr. Campbell began explaining their next lab assignment. As Buffy pulled out her textbook, the same eerie feeling came over her that she normally felt when a demon was nearby. She quickly looked around, trying to spot anything out of the ordinary. Unfortunately, everything seemed normal, and the feeling passed quickly. Making a mental note to mention it to Giles, the Slayer put the feeling out of her mind and, grabbing her lab coat, joined Willow and Xander in the back of the room.

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Xander waved to Buffy and Willow as they piled into Ms. Summers' Explorer, and headed to the nest with a satisfied smile on his face. Everything was going according to plan, just as Spike had said it would. It was only the first day, and already the young telepath had met his Master's quota for the week.

Casting a quick look around to make sure nobody was around, Xander climbed over the fence and jumped down into the soft grass of Restfield Cemetery. He stopped for a moment, scanning the minds of those in the area with his own before he found the one he was looking for. _ "Stay there," _ he sent, feeling the other's acknowledgement.

Xander took off at a jog, his shoulder bag slapping against his hip with every stride. A pair of elderly women shot him a dirty look as he ran past them, nearly running them down as he did so. Finally, he caught sight of the familiar white-blonde head standing safely in the shadow of a tree.

"Did you miss me?" Xander asked with a grin, letting his bag fall to the ground as Spike pulled him into a bear hug.

"More than I thought I would," Spike admitted, his voice muffled by the bigger man's shoulder. "Got used to seein' your mug around all day. Dalton was absolutely beside himself."

Xander chuckled. "He worries too much."

"He wasn't the only one, pet."

Xander blinked in surprise. "Oh," he said finally. He wasn't used to Spike's paternal tone, and didn't know what to say. Fortunately, the Englishman solved the boy's problem for him by gently brushing his lips against Xander's.

A disgusted snort from one of the elderly women broke them apart. Spike shot her an icy glare and growled softly. Turning back to Xander, the vampire slid an arm around his waist and led the boy back to the lair. "Come on, Xan. I want to hear every detail about your day and about this Slayer," he purred.

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Spike leaned back against his pillows, taking a long drag on his cigarette. It took him a few moments to sort through the multitude of information that Xander had sent to him telepathically. The boy himself sat on the end of the bed, happily snacking on the Chocolate Hurricane bars which Spike had stolen for him.

"She's young," Spike commented, stubbing out his cigarette in an ashtray when he saw that it was starting to bother Xander. "Younger than the others I've faced. That could be her downfall."

Xander nodded. "Yemph. Thee's." He swallowed. "Sorry. Yeah, she seemed overconfident, but she's really high-strung. A couple times she almost sensed me."

"Hm. What did you pick up for family?"

"Only child, lives with her mother and sometimes sees her father on weekends. Her father is a touchy subject. Her friends are Willow Rosenburg and Rupert Giles, who is also her Watcher," Xander said in a monotone, hungrily eyeing a bulge in Spike's shirt pocket. "She also has a boyfriend, but I couldn't pick up much other than he's older and her Watcher and the witch don't trust him," he added.

The hopeful glance at his pocket didn't escape Spike's notice. "Do you think you can get me more information about this bloke?" he pressed. This Slayer was quite unusual in that she had friends, not to mention a boyfriend. The young vampire was eager to learn more, for every detail would count when it came down to the final battle.

"Yeah. I'm going over her place to study tonight. I'll try to find out more then," the teen replied, his dark eyes flickering meaningfully back and forth between Spike's face and his pocket.

Spike nodded and pulled the last chocolate bar from his pocket and tossed it to Xander, who eagerly pounced on it. The vampire was content to wait for the time being.

Xander finished the chocolate bar and crawled up the bed and pressed himself close to Spike, his face buried in the crook of the vampire's neck. Spike breathed in the boy's scent, a feeling of utter contentment running through his body as he felt the warm body against his own. He was looking forward to Xander's upcoming birthday just as much as the telepath was; it had been getting increasingly harder to keep his touch light and platonic.

Spike was worried about Damien, though. He had no idea what his headstrong Childe would do when he claimed Xander, and hesitated to dwell on such thoughts.

He looked down at Xander, one hand coming up to run through the young man's long hair. He looked completely relaxed, a small smile playing on his lips as big puppy-dog eyes met the vampire's. He whispered something against Spike's neck as he fell asleep and the Brit's eyes widened when he deciphered what it was.

Replaying the words in his head, Spike fell back against the pillow in shock, the meaning of what Xander had said finally hitting him like a hammer blow. Unconsciously resorting back to a childhood method for dealing with stress, the Master vampire curled himself into a tight ball, still pressed against Xander, and let sleep claim him, the words "I love you" still replaying themselves through his head.


	4. Interlude: Streets of New Jersey

Author's Note: Again, thanks to everybody who has reviewed so far. You guys are awesome. This is one of what is going to be several random interludes, which take place sometime in the past. I wanted to show what it was like for Xan to be growing up with Spike, Dalton, and the rest, and these also will provide some insight as to why Xander will do the things he does. Erm, that's all I've got. Read on, and enjoy!

Interlude: New Jersey - 1985

"Spikey, come on! Wake up!"

Spike blearily opened one eye and mock-growled at the five-year-old boy perched on his chest. "What do you want, Nibblet?" he asked, stifling an immense yawn.

"G'oc'ry shopping."

"Grocery shopping?" Spike repeated, picking up Xander and throwing him over his shoulder as he got to his feet.

"Uh-huh. You said I could get candy if I finished a book wiv Dalton," Xander replied, giggling as Spike set him down on a beanbag chair.

"I did, did I?" the vampire said absently as he pulled on his Docs. Xander nodded and pouted, crossing his tiny arms across his chest. Spike smiled and ruffled the boy's shaggy hair. "That pout doesn't work on me, mate, I invented it."

Xander simply widened his liquid brown eyes and quivered his lower lip. Spike groaned and shut his eyes. "Alright, fine. Get your kit on. Make sure you remember your coat; it's getting a bit nippy."

The child let out a whoop and raced out of the room to grab his sneakers and jacket. Spike watched him go with a fond smile on his face. The baby he had "rescued" five years ago was growing fast. He seemed to have an endless amount of energy and got into everything, yet the Master vampire couldn't imagine unlife without him. He was glad that he had chosen Dalton to foster Xan; the scholarly vampire had been a teacher and father of three before he had been turned and he retained all of his paternal instincts even after death.

Grabbing his duster from off the floor where the blonde trick whom he had brought home had thrown it the night before, Spike left his room and entered the main area of the lair. Xander looked up as he entered and impatiently waited for Dalton to finish helping him untie his shoes. As soon as Dalton finished the last knot, the boy jumped up and ran over to Spike, taking the Brit's hand in both of his own and pulled him toward the exit.

"Come on, Spikey! The sun's been down for a long time! Let's go!" Xander urged, tugging on the adult's hand.

Spike scooped up the child and settled him on his shoulders. "We're goin', pet; we're goin'," he purred, rubbing his cheek against the boy's affectionately.

* * *

The mismatched duo made their way through the run-down streets of New Jersey toward a small convenience store, which Damien had spotted the previous night. A few people gave Spike an odd look as he walked by with the five-year-old still perched happily on his shoulders.

All of a sudden, Spike found himself unable to move, but immediately recognised the cause. Xander's hands had tightened in his hair and Spike knew that it was the tiny telepath who had stopped him. _"Bad mens!" _came the frantic thought from the boy and fear that wasn't his own gripped Spike like a vice.

The vampire squeezed Xander's leg reassuringly. "It's okay, Xan," he murmured. "I've got you. Where are these blokes?"

An image popped into his head of three young men gathered around a run down pawnshop. They had spotted the vampire and the child and were heading toward them.

"Don't let 'em know you're scared, alright, Nibblet? Gotta be brave now, like me, okay?" He could see them now; all three were jocks, the smallest of them was probably still a good three or four inches taller than Spike. Fortunately, the Brit's short stature rarely hindered him and he was confident that he could take all three, even with the child on his shoulders.

Turning his gaze to the three jocks, Spike smiled jovially at them. "'Lo, mates," he said cheerfully. "Fine night, in'nit?" He felt one of Xander's hands leave his hair as the boy followed the vampire's instructions and waved.

The biggest jock sneered at the vampire's remark and nudged his friends. "What have we here, boys?" He stepped up to Spike and looked down at him in amusement. "A little queer and his boy?"

Xander let out a quiet whimper and Spike felt white-hot rage race through him. Keeping a tight rein on his demon, he continued to keep up his cheerful smile. "Not my boy, actually. Funny story, really. I'd tell it to you, but I simply don't 'ave the time," he replied. "But he's still my li'l buddy, nonetheless. Y'see, you an' your mates are scarin' him a bit." His smile changed to a dangerous smirk and he let an icy growl creep into his voice. "I'm sure that fine, upstandin' gentlemen such as y'selves wouldn't want to frighten a li'l nibblet like 'im, 'specially wit' me bein' so fond o' him."

The rich scent of fear reached Spike as the jocks suddenly realised that they picked the wrong gay man to torment. He smiled, letting his features shift into those of a demon. "Stay here, Xander," he purred, gently lifting the whiskey-eyed boy to the ground. "We'll get your candy in a mo'." Xander nodded and reluctantly let go of Spike's leg.

Spike grinned a feral grin, showing off his sharp canines and relishing the scent of terror that the jocks gave off. He closed in on them, still grinning maniacally. Their mistake would cost them dearly. _Nobody _threatened his boy.


	5. Unpleasant Encounters

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Author's Note: Okay, sorry about the delay. The next chapter is finished, I just haven't typed it up yet, so it won't be too long. This chapter and the next one are just kind of setting the stage for more important things to happen, so that is why nothing big really happens in them. Thanks to all who have reviewed; you guys make my day. Enjoy! -DM

Chapter Three

"So, are we Bronzing it tonight?" Xander asked as he, Buffy, and Willow sat down at their table with their lunches.

"I'm free," Buffy replied. "How about you, Wills?"

Willow took a bite of her sandwich and nodded. "Are you bringing Angel this time? Or is he, uh, working tonight?"

Xander immediately picked up the slight hesitation in the redhead's voice and smiled inwardly. He had been at Sunnydale High for almost four months now and he still had very little information about Angel, Buffy's boyfriend. Willow's hesitation could mean something or nothing, but the young man couldn't take the risk to probe her mind for more details.

He hadn't had much time to discuss his findings with Spike lately; the Master had been busy preparing for Xander's Claiming ritual, which was to be held the following night. The telepath unconsciously smiled at that thought. He had waited for what seemed like forever for his eighteenth birthday, and now it was finally here.

"Uh-oh. Looks like Xan's gone to his happy place," he heard Buffy say teasingly. "Thinking about tomorrow night?"

Xander blushed, absently tucking a lock of hair, which had escaped his bandana, behind his ear. "I can't help it," he admitted. "I've had a crush on Will since I was old enough to know what a crush was." Will was the name Xander had chosen to use for Spike. It was the vampire's actual name, so Xander figured that it would be easiest to use that than any other name.

"At least you two even have boyfriends," Willow grumbled. "The only guy I've had the courage to speak more than a few vowel sounds to is Xander." The young Wiccan vehemently stabbed her fork into her salad.

"Aw, Wills, I didn't know you cared that much about me. I'm honoured."

Both girls laughed. "I thought you had your eye on that guitarist from Dingoes Ate My Baby, Willow," Buffy said. "What's his name, Osbourne?"

"Daniel Osbourne. Oz. And yeah, kinda liking him in the significant other-boyfriendy sense," Willow admitted. "He's not going to notice me though. He's in a rock band; I'm just a computer nerd who can float pencils," she finished glumly.

"I could try to talk to him if you want," Xander offered. He genuinely liked the redhead and it hurt him to see her depressed. "His gym locker is next to mine."

Willow brightened. "You would? That'd be great!" She paused. "Just don't get yourself beaten up again. I'd hate for you to get hurt because of me."

They all fell silent at the mention of The Incident, and Xander felt a twinge of pain from his taped ribs. The Incident had occurred almost three weeks earlier and it marked Xander's first encounter with homophobia in a long time.

He had been walking over to the Bronze one night when it happened. A group of guys in his grade approached him, their leader, the Sunnydale Razorbacks quarterback, Blaine Mall, at their head. Xander didn't sense their intentions until one of them grabbed his arms, pinning them behind his back. They had beaten him into submission, leaving the young telepath dazed and confused as to what had happened until Spike found him nearly twenty minutes later.

The Master vampire had been livid. Xander nearly had to seize control of the other man's mind in order to stop him from tracking the boys down and tearing them to pieces.

As a result, Xander was constantly ridiculed in the locker room. His clothes were stolen fairly often, his locker vandalised, and cries of "cocksucking hippie" were now commonplace. The telepath shook it off, but it had hit him hard. He was completely out of his element among other humans.

A gentle touch on his shoulder brought Xander back to the present. Willow was looking at him with a concerned expression on her face. "Are you sure you're up for the Bronze tonight, Xan? You don't look so good."

"I'm fine, Wills, really." Xander gave her one of his trademark lopsided grins when he saw the doubtful expression on her face. "It's not like my ribs are broken or anything. They're just bruised."

"You should still be careful. Especially tomorrow night."

"Yes, Mother."

"Which reminds me; I still need to give Will the shovel talk."

Xander groaned and covered his face in his hands. Buffy laughed. "Come on, Xan, it's not that bad. She did the same thing to Angel."

"I know. Will just doesn't take a joke too well, that's all. I'd hate to scare him away now."

Buffy snorted. "Trust me; Angel's probably not much better."

"Buffy! Ah, there you are." Mr. Giles, the librarian, came rushing over to their table. Xander picked up a note of urgency in the Watcher's voice and tentatively lowered his mental shields.

"I just received a call from Angel," Giles continued breathlessly, not noticing Xander's presence. "One of his old," he glanced quickly at Xander, "er, rivals, is in town, apparently. He is called Spike, and he told me to tell you to stay far away from him."

Xander's head shot up at Spike's name. So that was why he couldn't get much information on Angel. He was a vampire, and one that used to run with Spike.

The young telepath immediately reached for Spike's mind, blocked momentarily by the vampire's natural shields. Spike had been sleeping and was slightly annoyed at having been woken up. Xander quickly strengthened their link to allow the vampire to 'listen' in on the conversation.

"Spike?" Buffy repeated. "How bad is this guy? Angel doesn't normally make a big deal about other guys like him"

"He's very dangerous, and is rumoured to have brought his entire gang with him. Angel warns you not to underestimate him, as he is far stronger than he looks." He cleaned his glasses on the hem of his shirt anxiously. "Come see me after school today. You too, Willow."

"What about me, G-Man?" Xander asked, feigning confusion.

Giles shot him a glare at the hated nickname, but only received an innocent look in return. "I'm afraid this is a private matter, Xander, but I'm sure Buffy will fill you in later."

"Sorry, Xan," Buffy said. "We could always go to the Bronze tomorrow for your birthday."

Xander shrugged. "It's cool. I've got an English paper due anyway," he said nonchalantly. It was clear that he wasn't going to get any more information, so he let the link go, feeling Spike's mind gradually fade from his own. The vampire had reacted strangely to this revelation. Xander had half-expected their mental link to be severed instantly and Spike to go out in search of Angel as soon as he heard. Instead, the Brit was unusually introspective and Xander could only pick up random stray thoughts.

The bell rang and the trio said goodbye to Giles and headed down to Mr. Campbell's room. All of a sudden, Buffy stopped short, causing Xander to walk into her. Willow neatly sidestepped around the disoriented pair, then stopped short herself.

"Little warning would be nice, Buff," Xander muttered, picking up his cd player, which had fallen to the floor when he had bumped into the Slayer. He straightened, brushing dust off his headphones and slipped them into his back, absently brushing the stray lock of hair out of his eyes.

Buffy and Willow still hadn't moved. The Slayer glared defiantly at someone across the hall and Willow had what Xander knew to be her "resolve face" on. He looked up, seeing for the first time whom his friends were glaring at, and felt his blood turn to ice. Fear was a new emotion for him and he decided that he did not like the feeling at all.

"What are you doing here, Blaine?" Buffy asked scornfully as the quarterback swaggered toward them. "I thought you had been expelled."

Blaine shrugged. "My dad's a lawyer; he pulled some strings," he replied. Willow muttered something decidedly un-Willowlike under her breath. Blaine turned and regarded the tiny redhead with amusement. "So are you two Harris' bodyguards now?" He snorted. "I'm not gonna hurt him, don't worry. I can't afford another expulsion."

Xander angrily pushed his way past Buffy and Willow, stopping directly in front of Blaine. He picked up a flare of apprehension from the quarterback as Blaine realised that Xander was easily as big as one of his linebackers, and he didn't exactly fancy the thought of going up against one of _them_.

"Leave us alone, Blaine," Xander growled, trying his best to imitate Spike's dangerously calm tone of voice. He didn't normally consider himself to be a violent person, but at that moment, he wanted nothing more than to make Blaine pay for what he had done, for all the mocking and ridicule that Xander had been forced to endure.

A gentle touch on his arm broke through the red mist obscuring anything in his sight but Blaine. Tearing his gaze away, Xander looked at the hand resting lightly on his arm, then up at Willow's face. Concern showed on her gentle features and the telepath could pick up a hint of apprehension emanating from her. Blaine took that opportunity to walk hurriedly down the hall.

"Xan?" Willow asked hesitantly. Buffy too, was looking at him with a mixture of fear and respect. He shook his head, clearing away the last of the bloodlust.

"Sorry, I'm okay," he said, suddenly feeling very tired. He swayed a bit on his feet, but didn't notice until Buffy slipped an arm around his waist. Grateful for the support, he leaned heavily against the Slayer.

"You don't look so good," Buffy said, touching her hand to his forehead in a maternal gesture.

"I'm jus' tired," he mumbled. A dull throb had slowly been building in his head as soon as Blaine had arrived, and now he felt like there was an entire orchestra playing just behind his eyes.

Willow and Buffy exchanged dubious glances. As one, they spun Xander around and pushed him in the direction of the nurse's office, both of them ignoring the young man's protests.

The nurse looked up suspiciously as the three teenagers entered the office, but her face softened instantly when she saw Xander. Rising from her desk, she herded the young man into a chair and turned to Buffy and Willow.

"What classes are you coming from?" she asked, going back over to her computer.

"We were on out way to Chemistry when Xander got sick in the bathroom," Buffy lied quickly. Xander looked up at her in confusion and was about to say something when Willow's hand tightened on his knee. Reluctantly, he closed his mouth and nodded, wincing as the movement sent fresh tendrils of pain through his skull.

The nurse nodded sympathetically and handed Xander an Advil and a glass of water, which he gratefully accepted. "The flu's going around; I wouldn't be surprised if you were coming down with it," she said. "What's your name?"

Xander closed his eyes, trying to will the pain away. "Harris," he managed. "Alexander Harris."

The tapping of the keys on the nurse's keyboard blended in with the sound of the rain hitting the window outside. "Your father is Dalton Harris?" Xander nodded slowly. "Alright, I'm going to give him a call and tell him you're being dismissed. Do you want him to pick you up?"

"No," Xander said quickly. "I can walk, it's not far." The rain-heavy clouds probably would protect Dalton from the sun, but Xander wasn't prepared to risk his foster-father.

Rising, Xander slung his satchel across his shoulder and accepted the dismissal pass from the nurse. He gave his friends a weak smile and a half-hearted wave. "Have fun in chem, you guys. Maybe nothing will explode today," he joked. Buffy smiled and Willow gave him a worried look.

After turning his pass in to the main office and receiving a suspicious look from Principal Snyder, Xander left school and immediately walked as fast as he could bear to the nest. Every step brought fresh pain lancing through his head like razor-sharp knives.

How he managed to reach the nest, he didn't know. He pushed open the heavy iron door with shaking hands and stumbled inside, startling a pair of vampires in the process.

"Liegen," the female, Emma? Emily? said in shock as she and her companion rushed over to help the boy. "Liegen, are you alright?" Ella, that was her name, Xander remembered distractedly.

"Does he look alright to you?" the male, Ben, returned harshly. "Let's get him over to Dalton; only a fool would dare disturb Master Spike right now."

Xander struggled in the demons' arms. "No, I want to see Spike," he protested.

Ben tightened his grip as he and Ella led the telepath toward Dalton's room. "I'm sorry, Liegen, but the Master gave specific orders that no one, not even you, is to enter his quarters until tomorrow night."

The Claiming, Xander remembered. Spike must be preparing for the ritual. Sighing, he relented and allowed himself to be led into Dalton's room.

The vampiric scholar was waiting for them at the door when Ben and Ella arrived with Xander. Taking one look at the boy, Dalton rushed over and helped him to the bed he used when he wasn't with Spike. "Xander! What in hell's name happened to you?" he asked, dismissing the two younger vampires with a wave.

Xander let his head sink into the pillows, relieved to be home at last. The pain in his head made it impossible for him to use his telepathy, so he haltingly explained to Dalton what had happened with Blaine. Dalton listened intently, occasionally writing things down in the notebook that he used to record Xander's progress as a telepath.

"Mental overload, it seems," the scholar mused, more to himself than to Xander. He closed the notebook and placed it back in a cupboard, which contained various other personal items. "It has happened to you before, though you probably don't remember it," Dalton continued, sitting down beside Xander and running a hand through his foster-son's hair.

Xander scooted over and rested his head in Dalton's lap, something he often did as a child when his adoptive father told him stories. He allowed himself to relax and closed his eyes, focussing on Dalton's voice and the rhythmic strokes of the hand in his hair.

"You were about three," Dalton said, "and you were still too young to know how to control your abilities, so you had a habit of broadcasting your emotions. Master Spike was going to fight another Master who had been Challenging him for quite some time. This Master was just as powerful as Spike, but far less honourable and we were all deeply worried about this. You had picked up on our fear for Master Spike and threw an absolute fit when he was about to leave, broadcasting your fear until you finally passed out from overexertion."

"Did you and Spike stay with me?" Xander asked sleepily.

Dalton smiled. "Yes, we did. Spike sent a messenger to the other Master, rescheduling their Challenge. He refused to leave your side for anything." The scholar got up and arranged the sheets more comfortably around the teen. "Now rest. You'll feel better after a nap."

The boy nodded and closed his eyes. Dalton remained where he was for a few moments, but when he turned to leave, Xander reached out and caught his wrist, preventing the vamp from going anywhere. "No. Stay, Father," Xander whispered before giving in to the darkness.


	6. Save The Last Dance

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Author's Note: Here's the next chapter, as requested. It's a bit sappy for my taste, but you guys can decide for yourselves. Oh, and I nicked a scene from _Queer as Folk_. See if you can spot it, not that it will be hard. Enjoy! -DM

Chapter Four

Spike looked up as Dalton cautiously entered his quarters and got to his feet, stretching luxuriously. "Ah, there you are, Dalton," he said, gesturing to a chair across from the one he had been sitting in. "Have a seat, mate." The blonde walked over to a tiny refrigerator and stove and poured himself a cup of tea. "Can I get you anything? Blood? Tea? Beer?"

Dalton looked surprised at the other male's question. "Erm, tea would be wonderful, thank you, Master," he said hesitantly. It was rare for an ordinary vampire like Dalton to be asked specifically to meet with Spike in the Master's personal quarters, and the results of such meetings were not usually pleasant, so Spike could understand the scholar's apprehension.

He returned to the table with the tea and sat down. "Now, Dalton," Spike said, folding his hands in front of him on the table. "I didn't call you here as a minion; I called you here as a friend, so I want you to be completely honest with me, alright?" Dalton nodded. "Good. Tell me, what are the general feelings among the Order about my Claiming Xander?"

Dalton looked more than a little relieved, Spike noted with amusement. The scholar took a sip of his tea before answering. "Overall, the Order doesn't mind that you chose Alexander. They believe that he will be able to rule just as well as any vampire; but, there are some dissidents."

"Oh?"

"Not many, and mainly just among the youngest fledglings. They don't want someone who is our natural prey to lead us. They also think you might be going soft," Dalton replied, adding the last part after a slight hesitation.

Spike leaned back in his chair, his cold blue eyes never leaving the older vampire's. "Let me guess: Damien and his groupies?"

"I'm afraid so, Master."

Spike grunted. He had expected this, but had never really thought about what to do when the time came. _Denial, thy name is William the Bloody_, he thought bitterly. Now it was Xander's eighteenth birthday and Spike had run out of time. He stared into his cup, as if the dark liquid would give him a solution, but none came.

"What is your opinion, Dalton?" Spike asked finally, his normally icy blue eyes now soft and tired.

The other man looked up, startled. "What do I think?" he repeated, placing his cup down on the table. "Let me answer that with a question of my own: do you love him? Or, rather, are you in love with him?"

That certainly wasn't the answer Spike had expected. He sipped his tea and sat back, reluctant to voice his true feelings. "I don't plan on making 'im my Consort tonight," the Brit said slowly, carefully planning out his words.

"What?!" Dalton looked shocked and more than a little angry. "Pardon me if I'm speaking out of turn, Master, but you can't do that!" he growled. "Xander has waited for this night for years; you can't just take all of that away at the last second!" he exclaimed.

Spike fought to keep his emotions from showing. "I'm not planning on taking that away, Dalton. I'm planning on making Xan my lifemate," he said quietly, cursing himself silently as a tremor ran through his voice. He looked down, not caring if the other vamp took the gesture as a sign of weakness.

There was absolute silence from Dalton for several agonisingly long moments. Spike looked up cautiously and received a gentle smile from the older vampire. "So you are in love with him," Dalton said after a moment. "Does Xander know?"

"No. I don't even think he knows that I heard him tell me that he loves me. Boy was 'alf asleep when 'e said it."  
"You're going to tell him tonight though, right?"

Spike nodded. "I'm going to surprise him at that club tonight. I'll need backup in case Angelus shows up, or if the Slayer manages to get 'er sodding head outta 'er arse long enough to put two an' two together."

"Who do you want with you?" Dalton asked.

The peroxide blonde thought for a moment. Damien and his cronies were definitely out, though leaving them alone in the lair wasn't an option either. "I'll take those two guards, Fox and Aiden, along with that young female, Ella," he said after a moment. "I want you, Ben, and Starcat to stay here. Don't let Damien out of your sight and tell the others to do the same. You and Ben will be in charge with Starcat and Cooper as your seconds. Got that?" Dalton nodded. "Good. You're dismissed. I'll be in here until sunset if anybody needs me."

Dalton got to his feet and bowed, thanking Spike for the tea. When he had almost reached the door, Spike jumped up and grabbed the scholar's arm, his fingers digging cruelly into the other's bicep. "Oh, and Dalton; don't hesitate to destroy Damien if he tries anything," Spike purred. "If anything happens to Xan as a result of something Damien does, I'm holding _you_ personally responsible."

The scholar visibly paled and nodded. Spike smiled and released him, watching with amusement as Dalton scurried as fast as he could out of the room. _Oh yeah,_ Spike thought smugly. _I've still got it._

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"So, how does it feel to be eighteen, Xan?" Buffy asked, speaking loudly to be heard over the pounding rock music in the Bronze.

"It's nice," Xander replied with a grin and leaned back in his chair. Looking around the crowded club, he scowled as he saw a familiar face. "Or, at least it _was_ nice."

Buffy and Willow both looked over as Cordelia Chase approached them along with her not-so-intelligent sidekick, Harmony Kendall, in tow.

"Just what are you three doing here?" Cordelia asked snidely.

"Playing soccer," Buffy replied, not bothering to look up at the brunette.

Cordelia ignored her and fixed her gaze on Xander. "I heard about how you went all serial-killer on Blaine Mall yesterday," she said. "It was a good try, but you're not fooling anybody, Harris. You should at least make an effort. Stop dressing like a hippie, for example, and maybe people will start taking you seriously someday."

Xander nodded and pretended to consider what she had said. "So," he began slowly, "does that mean that if you stop dressing like a hustler, the guys will stop talking about you in the locker room?" he asked innocently.

Cordelia's face turned cold with rage, but it was Harmony who spoke first. "At least she has a boyfriend, Harris. You couldn't get anyone, you big girl."

"Now, I wouldn't say that," a deep accented voice purred from beside Xander.

"Spike," Xander whispered in stunned disbelief, rising to greet the older man.

The vampire gave him a rare smile. Tight black jeans clung to his legs like a second skin and he wore a white tank top with a crimson coloured silk shirt unbuttoned over it. A silver chain hung around his neck and a similar chain circled his wrist. Xander couldn't take his eyes off him.

"Surprise, luv," Spike whispered, stepping close to Xander and wrapping his arms around the bigger male's waist. "Make sure you prevent the Slayer from findin' out what I am," he murmured just loudly enough for Xander to hear. "Time's not right yet." He leaned in and kissed the younger man gently, ignoring the other Bronzers staring openly at them.

Xander turned back to the girls, keeping one arm around Spike. "Buffy, Willow, this is William," he said with a triumphant grin at Cordy and Harmony. "My boyfriend."

Spike nodded politely to each of the girls. "Pleasure, ladies," he rumbled, his predatory gaze lingering a bit longer on the Slayer.

Willow smiled and greeted Spike as Cordelia stormed off with Harmony following close behind. Xander picked up a stray thought from Buffy about Angel's warning and steered her thoughts away from it as carefully as he could.

"Would you two mind if I borrowed Xan 'ere for a mo'?" Spike asked, still speaking with a southern London, upper-class accent.

The Slayer smiled. "Take him away, by all means," she said. "We'll be here. Oz said he'd catch up with us after his gig."

Xander threw a shocked look at Willow, whose face was turning as red as her hair. "You talked to Oz?" he asked.

"Well, not really talked. More along the lines of desperate babbling. Which, by the way, worked."

"Way to go, Wills!" Xander said, giving the redhead a quick hug. "I'll see you guys later." Both girls waved as Spike pulled Xander onto the dance floor.

"Why did you come here?" Xander asked as soon as they were out of earshot. "You knew Buffy was going to be here!"

The vampire shrugged. "Wanted a dance, Xan. Besides, I brought backup just in case things turned nasty." He pulled Xander close and rested his head on the telepath's shoulder, swaying slowly to the music.

Xander looked at the blonde, automatically wrapping his arms around the slender waist. "I never thought you would dance to a song this cheesy," he commented, hearing the first verse start.

"I'm a closet romantic. Tell anyone I told you that, an' I'll rip y' vocal cords out," Spike admitted good-naturedly. He nuzzled the boy's neck, humming quietly along with the song.

"You know this song?" Xander asked doubtfully, not quite believing that the vampire actually listened to old, romantic music.

Spike merely grinned at him. "But don't forget who's takin' you home, and in whose arms you're gonna be. So darlin', save the last dance for me," he sang along softly.

Out of the corner of his eye, Xander spotted Fox, one of the two warriors who made up Spike's personal guard. The telepath relaxed against Spike, letting the older man lead. The vamp continued to sing along with the song, his deep baritone voice blending pleasantly with the singer's.

All eyes were on them now, but all Xander saw were Spike's blue eyes. He hesitated for a moment before leaning in and brushing his lips against the Brit's. As he drew back, Spike's eyes searched the bigger man's face, one hand coming up to cup the back of his head. The vampire gently pulled Xander back and kissed him, waiting for the young man to respond before deepening it.

Xander sighed and fell into the heat, pressing himself close to Spike. He returned the kiss as fiercely as he could, pouring his feelings for the vampire into the kiss as the singer finished the last lines of the song.

_"So don't forget who's taking you home_

and in whose arms you're gonna be.

So darling,

Save, the last dance for me."


	7. Lovers

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Author's Note: This chapter's a little longer than usual, but I don't think that really matters to you guys. Um, I kinda stole Starcat's name from Nick Brendon's character in Psycho Beach Party, but that's pretty much where the resemblance ends. A lot of this chapter deals with vampire customs, and the one thing that you really need to know is that honour is a HUGE thing with my vampires. That's about it. Enjoy! -DM

Chapter Five

Xander couldn't see how life could get any better. He and Spike had left the Bronze after their dance and walked back to the lair. Xander could sense Fox, Aiden, and Ella not far behind, but the demonic trio respectfully kept their distance. He leaned against Spike as they walked, the vampire's arm wrapped possessively around his waist.

"Having a good birthday, luv?" Spike asked as they approached the nest's entrance. The blonde had kept quiet about the Claiming ritual, but he had hinted at it back at the Bronze. Excited as he was, Xander couldn't help but feel a little nervous. _Performance anxiety,_ he thought dryly.

"The best," Xander replied, pressing a kiss to Spike's temple. "If the ritual involves chocolate in any way, I will die a very happy man." _Hah! See, I can make with the innuendo too!_ came the hysterical thought from the back of his mind.

Spike chuckled. "It doesn't, but I'm sure we could improvise something," he purred.

Flanked by the three vampire warriors, the couple strode into the lair. At Dalton's signal, every vampire present knelt as Spike and Xander walked by. Every vamp, that is, except Damien.

A low growl came from deep in the hot-headed fledgling's throat. "I will not submit to a _human_!" Damien snarled, his face shifting back and forth between human and demonic features as he fought to control his rage. "His kind are weak; they are our natural prey! Have all of you gone mad? We should be feasting on this, this _boy_, not submitting to him!" he shouted.

Starcat, a young vampire known for his strength rather than for his intelligence, snarled and viciously backhanded Damien, sending the slender fledge crashing to the ground. "You dare to bring our Master's honour into question?" he roared. "You should be grovelling at his feet! He is the one who saved you from the torments of a mortal life, and yet you insult his honour?" Starcat grabbed Damien by the throat and hauled the smaller male off the floor. "Master Spike has shown an amazing amount of patience when it comes to you, fledge. You're damned lucky to have one such as he for a Sire," he hissed, slamming Damien against the wall of the lair.

Spike watched all of this impassively, making no move to help his headstrong Childe. He didn't seem too surprised at Starcat's actions and Xander didn't blame him. The giant vampire was Ben's Childe and was subsequently incredibly loyal to Spike, just as his Sire was.

The Brit released Xander's hand and touched Starcat's arm. "Put the whelp down, mate," he said. "I'll deal w'him after the ritual. Then 'e can pay 'is respects proper." Spike smiled faintly. "Though, I 'ave to admit, Damien 'ere does bring up a good point."

Xander looked up, shocked at what Spike had said. Fear gripped him in its icy claws. Was the Master planning on not going through with the ritual? Xander felt Ella's arm go around him and he leaned against the vampiress, grateful for her support.

"By the laws of our Order, it wouldn't be proper for me to make this human cub my Consort," Spike announced. He looked around the room, meeting the eyes of every vampire present. Xander thought he was going to be sick. "I can't make this man my Consort," Spike continued, "because I love him."

Stunned silence followed Spike's announcement. Xander lifted his gaze to meet Spike's, who was smiling faintly. The vampire walked up to Xander and took his hands. "Alexander LaVelle Harris," he said slowly, using Xander's full name. "I would be honoured to have you as my lifemate, if you choose to accept my offer."

Xander gave the vampire one of his trademark lopsided grins and kissed him softly. "I'd be honoured, Master Spike," he said quietly.

"No more 'Master,' luv. My rank is yours now," Spike purred. With one swift move, he swung the young telepath over one shoulder and headed toward his quarters, leaving behind a stunned pack of demons.

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Xander woke up slowly, a feeling of utter contentment running through his body. Spike was still soundly asleep next to him, one pale arm wrapped possessively around the big man's waist, holding him close. With a yawn, Xander stretched languidly and rolled over to face his lover.

His lover. Spike was his lover. For once in Xander's life, they were truly equal, not Master and subordinate. Gingerly, Xander touched the bite mark at the juncture of his neck and shoulder. Overnight, it had faded to a silvery scar, but it was still tender to the touch.

"I hope you're not 'aving second thoughts, luv. That mark won't go away," Spike mumbled sleepily, his fingers running up and down Xander's arm.

"I'm not," Xander replied. "It still doesn't seem real. I feel like I'm just going to wake up sooner or later."

Before Xander could blink, he found himself flat on his back with Spike on top of him. The vampire licked and nipped a fiery trail along Xander's jaw line before kissing the young man deeply. "Trust me, luv," Spike mumbled huskily against Xander's lips. "It's real."

Xander grinned at him and returned the kiss forcefully, battling Spike for dominance. _ "Mine!" _he sent as he nipped sharply at the vampire's lower lip.

Spike bucked against him, hissing softly. "Yours, pet," he gasped. "All yours." Purring, the Brit kissed a path down Xander's neck, pausing over the Claim mark.

Xander laughed as Spike laid tiny, kitten-like licks around the bite, then yelped in surprise and pleasure as the vampire placed a suckling kiss on the sensitive mark. "Fuck," the telepath hissed, bucking his hips up to meet Spike's. "Spike, what the fuck was that?" he gasped as the wave of pleasure passed over him.

The older man chuckled. "Nice l'il side effect of my Claiming you, luv. The mark stays that sensitive." Spike slid himself up Xander's body and pressed a quick kiss to the young man's lips. "I've got an idea; wait 'ere," he said before hopping off the bed and walking stiffly over to the refrigerator.

Before Xander could probe his lover's mind for an explanation, Spike returned to the bed and kissed the telepath roughly. "Remember how you said that you would die a happy man if the ritual involved chocolate?" Xander nodded. Spike gave him a wolfish grin and held up a pint of Ben and Jerry's Death By Chocolate ice cream. "Told you I could improvise something," he purred.

Xander looked at Spike, then at the ice cream, and then back again. A slow smile appeared on his youthful features. "Giddy up, then," he said.

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Damien was being far too silent for Dalton's liking. The fledgling stood at the far end of the main chamber, throwing knives at a target on the wall. He was up to something, Dalton was sure of that. What he was up to, however, remained a mystery. The young vampire hadn't even gone out to hunt; he simply stole a younger male's kill instead and devoured it himself, not bothering to clean up the gory mess afterward.

Dalton rose and stretched, trying to get the knots of tension out of his back. Giving Damien a wide berth, he walked down the dimly lit passageway to Ella and her lover, Cooper's, room. Ella had been in the Order since the early 1900's and Cooper was turned in the famed Stonewall Rebellion in 1969. Both females were often the voices of reason in the Order of Aurelius, preventing the impulsive Spike from doing anything too rash. Dalton hoped that they would be able to help him with Damien.

Both women listened to his story, occasionally exchanging glances that Dalton couldn't read. "I certainly wouldn't put it past Damien to try to sabotage the Master's plan, even this late," Ella said, looking to her lover for confirmation.

Cooper nodded in agreement. "I'd let Master Spike know as soon as he's available," the young vampiress advised. "We'll keep an eye on the little shit for now."

Dalton checked his watch and rose to his feet. "Thank you both," he said sincerely. "I can only hope that things will work out for the best."

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A gentle touch to his shoulder roused Spike from his sleep. He curled into the touch, a subsonic purr emerging from deep in his chest.

"You're like an over-grown kitten," came the amused comment.

Spike opened his eyes and increased the volume of his purr. "Sign of a utterly content vamp, mate," he responded sleepily, bringing Xander's hand to his lips and kissing the telepath's knuckles.

"We should get up," Xander said reluctantly, dropping a kiss to Spike's shoulder blade. "The sun's almost set."

The Englishman yawned, a sharp twinge in his stomach reminding him that there was one part of his body that wasn't satisfied yet. "We could 'ead over to the cinema an' grab a quick supper," he suggested, watching his lover dress. "Get you somethin' at that nasty fast food place you like, an' then see a film?"

Xander tossed Spike a pair of jeans and a shirt, then pulled on his own tie-dyed shirt, ignoring Spike's snort of disgust. "Sure," the whiskey-eyed man agreed. "Maybe I'll actually get you to try a Doublemeat Medley this time," he added with a smirk as he tied a tan bandana around his head, keeping his long hair out of his eyes.

Spike shuddered at the memory of the grease-filled "burgers" served at the infamous Doublemeat Palace. "I'll pass on that one, luv," he replied, reluctantly pulling on his clothes. "They've got too many florescent lights, an' you know that a lot of nasty demons love those." He picked his duster off the floor, taking a moment to lovingly run his fingertips against the worn leather before putting it on and tying his Doc Martens.

"Where's my other Birk?"

The vampire looked around, located the errant sandal, and tossed it to his lover. He ran his hands through his tousled blonde hair, which was sticking up in random tufts, and contemplated whether or not he should attempt to return some semblance of order to it.

"Leave it," Xander said, responding to his unspoken thought. "It looks cute."

Spike scowled at him, but left his hair alone. "I am _not_ cute," he mock-growled. "I'm the Big Bad; I can't be 'cute.'" Xander pouted, but said nothing. The vampire rolled his eyes and gave a theatrical sigh. "Git. C'mere," he said, pulling the telepath close and softly kissing him.

"I love you," Xander whispered, brushing his hand against Spike's cheek.

Spike's unbeating heart twisted a bit at his lover's words and he smiled, his inner demon berating him the entire time. _Wanker. Turnin' into a giant poof, you are,_ a little voice in the back of his mind grumbled. Spike pushed the thought down, for fear that Xander would pick it up. He pressed his forehead against the taller male's.

"Love you too, Xan."

They stood that was for several long seconds, then Spike pulled away, taking Xander's hand in his own. "Come on, then. Time to see what sort o'damage those tossers 'ave done to the nest."

The two males emerged from Spike's quarters and as soon as they were noticed, Ben knelt at their feet. "Hail!" the loyal vampire announced to the rest of the Order. "Hail to our new Master! May he bring honour to our Order for as long as he lives. All hail Alexander the Master!"

Spike felt his heart fill with pride as he saw the entire Order of Aurelius kneeling at his love's feet. He opened his mouth to make a speech, but he was abruptly cut off by a cry from the back of the room.

"Wait! I have an announcement!"

Everyone turned to look at Damien as the young fledge escaped from Cooper's grasp and shoved his way to where Spike and Xander stood. Spike recognised the dangerous gleam in his Childe's eye and stepped in front of his mate, growling a warning.

Damien, however, made no move to come any closer. "Alexander Harris, I refuse to submit to your authority, and I'm Challenging your right to bond with my Sire!"

Xander glared at the hated vampire and Spike suddenly realised with a sick feeling what Damien was about to do. He lunged at his Childe, viciously backhanding the younger male. "No!" he roared.

Damien stood and ignored Spike, instead facing Xander. "In the name of Angelus, the greatest Master of our Order, I call the Blood Rite Challenge on you!"

Spike whirled around, horrified at Damien's words. "You can't! He's not a vampire!"

"By life-bonding with him, you made him one of us, Spike," Damien said coldly. "He is now bound by the same laws as any vampire in the Order."

Helplessly, the Brit turned to Dalton. "There must be something!" he said desperately, not caring how weak he must look. "As a Master, can't I overrule it?"

Dalton shook his head sadly. "Not by the rules of the Blood Rite. If Damien had called it in your name, you could've. Unfortunately, he called it in the name of your Grandsire, who is no longer with us." He thought for a moment. "As one of the Challengers, though, Xander can refuse the Challenge, as he is of a higher rank than Damien."

All eyes turned to Xander, whose gaze had never left Damien's. Spike stood in front of his lover, cupping the dark-haired man's cheek, knowing the physical contact would allow Xander to feel the full effect of Spike's fear. "Please, luv," he whispered. "You have to refuse. You can't win a Challenge, an' you'll die if you lose!"

Xander nuzzled the vampire's palm. "I can't refuse with honour, Spike, you know that. You and Dalton have both taught me to always act with honour, and I'm not going to ignore that now," he said quietly. Spike felt his heart rend as Xander gave him a forced smile and kissed him gently. As he let the young telepath go, the vampire could taste a salty liquid on his lips.

"Damien Merquise," Xander announced. "I accept your Challenge."


	8. Interlude: Lessons from Stonewall

****

Author's Note: I am a mean bitch, and I'm damn proud of it! I couldn't resist leaving it at a cliff hanger, then not doing anything about it. My deepest apologies. Anyway, this is another one of those pesky random interludes. You really don't need to read it if you don't want to; you'll still be able to follow the main storyline. I just had a request from one of my friends to have an interlude with a young Xander and his crush on Spike. Also, I'm writing a ten-page term paper on the Stonewall Rebellion, so that explains the first half of this. Goddamn schoolwork interfering with my writing.... ::shakes fist::

Interlude: Greenwich Village, NY - 1993

"Dalton! Lemme go, we're gonna be late!"

Dalton refused to move and gave his thirteen-year-old foster son a stern look. "I told you that you could go only when you finished your math problems," he said. "If you hadn't insisted on watching that ridiculous show, you would be done by now!"

Xander gave him a crooked grin. "Admit it, Dalton, you thought _The Adventures of Treize the Crossdresser_ was funny."

"I did not!" Dalton returned frostily. "Honestly, I don't see why there are such pointless programmes on television these days," he grumbled. Picking up a small cup, the scholar poured himself a cup of blood and grabbed a can of root beer for Xander.

"Now, just finish those last few problems and you are free to go. I'll help you through them if you have any-" Dalton stopped abruptly as he returned to the study.

Xander was gone.

Dalton sighed and ran a hand across his balding scalp, sipping his tea absently. "What am I going to do with that boy?" he asked himself as he began to tidy up the study.

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Xander grinned to himself as he quickly sneaked out of the lair. Cooper had promised the young teen that she would take him to see the sights of the historic Greenwich Village, including the Pride block party on Christopher Street and Xan didn't want to keep her waiting.

He turned onto Greenwich Ave. and scanned the minds of those nearby, searching for Cooper's distinctive mental pattern. Easily picking out her thoughts from the humans', Xander tracked her to a small alleyway.

"Cooper?" Xander called, cautiously walking into the alley, his mind continuously scanning his surroundings. "Hey, Coop, it's Xander."

The young vampiress strolled out of the shadows with her usual leonine grace, contently licking blood off her fingers. A small cut ran below her right eye, but it didn't seem to bother her.

"Hey, kiddo," Cooper said, playfully ruffling the boy's dark hair. "Escaped from Dalton, did you?"

Xander grinned, brushing his hair out of his eyes. "Yeah. I snuck out when the old man wasn't looking," he replied. "What happened to your eye? Food fight back?"

Cooper scowled. "Fucker pulled a knife on me," she growled. An evil grin appeared on her soft features. "I made him eat it, though. He didn't struggle so much after that, which was disappointing."

Chuckling, Xander followed the vampiress onto Christopher Street, mentally seizing control of the security guards. The two made their way through the mass of partying Pride-goers and street vendors, heading for a large brick tavern-like restaurant.

"Where are we going?" Xander called after Cooper, trying to keep up with the light-footed vamp.

"To have a little history lesson," Cooper replied, slowing her strides to allow the boy to catch up. "One that any queer worth salt should know." She stopped in front of the restaurant and gestured to it with a grandiose wave.

"This, kiddo, is Stonewall."

Xander tilted his head in confusion, a habit he'd adopted from Master Spike. "Stonewall?" he repeated, still unsure where Cooper was going with this.

The vampiress stared at him incredulously. "You don't know what Stonewall is?" she asked in disbelief. She shook her dark head sadly. "What's ol' Dalton teachin' you?" Xander was about to respond when Cooper cut him off. "Nevermind. I'll teach you what you'll really need to know," she said, throwing an arm around the young telepath's shoulders.

"Stonewall was a gay bar in the sixties that was raided by the police; but, instead of just standin' by and lettin' the cops win, the patrons of the bar fought back. The battle lasted for three days and now it's known as the start of the gay revolution."

"Is that why we go to Pride every year?"

Cooper grinned. "You got it. I was in that fight when I was human, but I was turned on the third night." Her grey eyes darkened. "Cops are fuckin' lucky that the fight ended when it did," she growled softly.

Xander looked at the old restaurant and pictured what it must've looked like in the sixties. Around him, people snapped pictures of the historic building and sat on the sidewalk in front of it. Smiling, he looked back over at Cooper, who seemed lost in her memories.

"C'mon, Coop," he said. "Let's join the party."

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After he and Cooper arrived back at the abandoned building that the Order of Aurelius had taken over, Xander headed straight for Spike's quarters, eager to tell his benefactor what he had missed.

The young teen squeezed past Fox and Aiden and entered the Master's private quarters. "Hey, Spike!" he called, looking around the room for the Englishman. There was no reply.

Frowning, Xander mentally probed the room and picked up Spike's location. Rolling his eyes, the boy walked over to the bathroom and tapped on the door.

"Spike, it's me," Xander said through the door. "You missed a great party! Cooper showed me the Stonewall Inn and told me they story, an' it was way cool!"

The door opened and Xander was hit with a blast of steam. Spike walked out combing his bleached hair back, naked save for a towel wrapped precariously around his slender waist. Xander watched in fascination as tiny beads of water dripped down the older male's chest and disappeared beneath the low-riding towel. _Eyes up, X-Man,_ Xander scolded himself, swallowing heavily.

"It was 'way cool,' was it?" Spike murmured with a hint of amusement colouring his voice, apparently oblivious to Xander's attraction.

"Uh, yeah," Xander replied distractedly. He shook his head to clear it, studiously looking away from Spike as he dressed. "We should crash block parties more often."

Spike chuckled as he pulled a tight, black t-shirt over his head. "We should," he agreed, turning to face the boy. "As long as you finish your schoolwork first," the Brit finished quietly.

Xander blushed and looked at his feet, suddenly finding the suede bindings on his Birkenstocks fascinating. "You heard about that?" he mumbled, embarassed.

"I saw you run out of the study," Spike explained, tilting the child's head up with his fingertips. "You're getting older, cub; you have to start acting more responsibly." He smiled. "Look at you. You're already as tall as I am, Xan. Soon you'll be an adult and my Consort. This Order can't be led by someone who skirts their duties, understand?"

The young telepath nodded. "Sorry, Spike. I'll go back and finish the last of my work," he said reluctantly.

Spike smiled at him and Xander suddenly wished that he were older, so the vampire wouldn't look at him like a child, but instead as a man worthy to be his mate. The Brit reached out and smoothed Xander's long hair back. "That's my boy," he said quietly. "Go on back to Dalton, now."

Xander nodded and returned to his and Dalton's room. With a sigh, the young teen sat down at the table and pulled out his notebook. He made a half-hearted attempt to finish his work, but his mind remained elsewhere.

"One day I'll make you proud, Spike," Xander whispered. "Someday, you'll feel proud to have me as a Consort."

****

A/N: Oh, for those of you who want more information on _Treize the Crossdresser,_ please read The Rogue Prince's fic, At the Movies. I blame her.


	9. Conversations Between Dead People

****

Author's Note: Due to several death threats and bribes to clean out my car, I have finished the next chapter! Here is the much-begged-for meeting between Spike and Angel, and please excuse any OOC on Angel's part: I'm not used to writing him all that much, so he might not sound right. Any suggestions for improvement will be greatly appreciated.

Side note to Bree: I'm holding you to that bribe to clean out my car, you know. The next chapter does not go up until my car is cleaned out. ::grin::

Chapter Six

"Find anything yet?"

Dalton sighed and took off his glasses, glaring impatiently at the pacing Brit. "Not yet, Master," he said slowly, as if speaking to a child. "But it's only been two minutes since you last asked, so that's to be expected."

Growling, Spike sat down at the table and reached for Dalton's notebook. "What's this?" he asked gruffly.

"General information about the Blood Rite, rules and such. I've gone over them for loopholes that we could possibly take advantage of, but I can't seem to find any. Right now I'm looking through recorded accounts of Challenges past, but the Blood Rite is so rarely called that the accounts are hard to come by."

Spike apparently hadn't heard him. "Bloody hell! They aren't allowed to use weapons?! How's he supposed to kill Damien w'his bare hands?"

"Tear off his head, I suppose," Dalton mused. "Though Damien does have a distinct advantage in being a vampire."

Spike miserably buried his face in his arms. "Why couldn't it just be a Challenge to first blood?" he said mournfully.

"Because then Alexander would have a chance of winning," Ella said from the doorway. "Damien's a coward; he wouldn't have Challenged Master Alexander if he didn't think that it would be a sure victory." She smiled, sharing a look with her lover. "We did, however, find a flaw in his plan."

Spike looked up anxiously, a glimmer of hope in his blue eyes. "Tell me," he ordered. "Xan can't fight that Challenge!"

Cooper tossed a sheaf of yellowed papers onto the table between the two males. Ben and Starcat appeared in the doorway as well, ever loyal to Spike. Fox and Aiden kept guard outside the door with explicit orders to let no one in but those assisting Spike in his research.

"These are from Ella's former Order," Cooper explained. "It's a personal account of the only Blood Rite Challenge to ever have been cancelled."

Interested, Spike picked up the pages and inspected them closely. He briefly scanned the first page, then shook his head. "We still need the Master whose name Damien called the Challenge in. We can't do anything without my wanker of a Grandsire."

"But we do have Angelus," Ben quietly pointed out. "You said that Alexander sent you information that proved Angelus is right here in Sunnydale."

Spike snorted. "Poof's known as 'Angel' now. He's got 'imself a soul an' a Slayer to shag."

"He could also be our only chance," Dalton retorted. He handed Ella the papers and leaned forward in his chair. "Master, if you could convince him to call the High Council of Orders together, the Challenge could be cancelled. Only he can file for a cancellation," he pressed.

Everyone turned to look at Spike, who was lost in thought. Finally, he shoved his chair back angrily and pulled on his duster. Growling, he pushed Cooper and Starcat out of his way, snarling an order to Aiden.

"Bring the DeSoto around to the front."

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Spike sat in the DeSoto glaring balefully at the house across the street. The last thing he wanted to do was reveal himself to the Slayer, but only she could tell him where to find Angel.

Ben looked at the Master vampire uneasily. "I'll go and talk with the Slayer if you would prefer, Master," he offered, choosing his words carefully so as not to anger the unpredictable blonde.

"No, I have to go. She can't hurt me because her dear chum, Xander, will die if she doesn't tell me where ol' Peaches is." Spike opened the door and stepped out into the night. "Guard the car," he ordered.

Leaving Ben in the DeSoto, Spike walked cautiously across the Summers' lawn to the front door.

A tall, middle-aged woman opened the door and smiled pleasantly at Spike. _Must be 'er mum,_ the vampire thought, noting the family resemblance.

"Can I help you?" Mrs. Summers asked, a hint of caution in her voice.

Spike smiled disarmingly. "I hope so, ma'am," he replied, slipping out of his usual northern London drawl. "I'm Will Stuart, Xander Harris' boyfriend. I was wondering if I could speak with Buffy, if it's not too much trouble." Internally, Spike was praying for an invitation.

No such luck. Mrs. Summers merely smiled at him and called Buffy's name.

The Slayer appeared on the stairs and stared at Spike in confusion. "Will? What are you doing here?" She hurriedly came downstairs, taking her jacket off the railing. "Is Xander okay?"

"For now," Spike replied. He glanced toward the den, where Buffy's mom had retreated to. "You might want to step outside t'hear this."

Buffy hesitated, looking at Spike with suspicion. She cautiously walked onto the porch to join the Brit, making sure to never turn her back on him.

"If I wanted to kill you, Slayer, I would've done so at the Bronze," Spike said, returning to his usual accent. "I didn't come 'ere for a fight. I came for some help."

A stake appeared in Buffy's hand and she had Spike on his back with the tip of the stake digging into his flesh in an instant. "You expect me to help a vampire?" Buffy scoffed. "Nice try."

Spike shrugged. "Fine," he said nonchalantly. "Just know that if you destroy me, Xander will die."

Buffy paused at the mention of Xander's name, but she didn't let Spike up. "You're holding him hostage?"

"Quite the contrary. He had the option to refuse the Challenge, but 'e's too bloody honourable to back down." Spike glared at the Slayer with a frightening intensity in his blue eyes. "I love him, Slayer. The only one who can cancel that Challenge is Angel, so I need to know where I can find 'im."

Cautiously, Buffy let Spike up. "You're him, aren't you? The vampire whom Angel warned me about. Spike."

Spike smirked. "Got it in one," he purred. "Xander's been in my order since 'e was a babe, an' I'm not prepared to let 'im throw 'is life away," he confessed. "Now, will you 'elp me?"

The Slayer sighed. "Follow me," she said reluctantly.

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Under normal circumstances, Buffy would've never willingly gotten into a car with a Master vampire, but she did realise that it was now a race against time to save Xander's life.

As soon as Spike had revealed himself, everything had fallen into place: Xander arriving soon after the Order of Aurelius; the strange feelings she occasionally had around Xander; and, the other teen's interest in Angel. Buffy silently cursed herself for not seeing the connections before.

"Left or right, Slayer?"

Buffy jumped as Spike's gruff voice broke through her thoughts. "Um, left," she replied absently.

The other vampire who had been waiting for them in Spike's DeSoto glanced at Buffy uneasily. "I wish we had Alexander with us," he grumbled. "I don't trust her, Master."

"Neither do I, Ben, but right now, she an' Peaches are Xan's only chance."

Buffy could hear the pain and fear in Spike's voice and nearly found herself pitying him before she caught herself. _He brainwashed Xander,_ Buffy reminded herself sternly. _He doesn't deserve pity._

"Why do you need Angel anyway?" Buffy voiced the question that had been on her mind for some time. "Can't you just cancel this Challenge, or whatever it is?"

Spike glanced at her through the rearview mirror. "Doesn't your Watcher teach you anything about vampire customs?" he sneered, his voice dripping with contempt. "Honestly, Slayers these days just aren't as bright as they used to be."

"Just answer the question, Spike," Buffy snapped, finding the peroxide blonde more irritating than evil.

Spike merely laughed at the young woman's angry tone. The other vampire, Ben, twisted in his seat to face Buffy.

"Master Spike's Childe called the Blood Rite Challenge on Master Alexander," the soft-spoken vampire explained. "It's a fight to the death. Damien though, called the Challenge in Angelus'-"

"Angel's," Buffy corrected.

"Angel's name, " Ben allowed. "By the rules of the Challenge, only the Master whose name it was called in can cancel it."

"So what does Angel have to do?"

"He must call the High Council of Orders together and represent the Order of Aurelius. He has to petition the Council for a cancellation, and then the Council will vote on whether or not to approve his cancellation."

"It's sort of like Congress, only with less backstabbing," Spike commented dryly. He parked the DeSoto across the street from an old, abandoned mansion and looked steadily at the Slayer.

"Now, I'm perfectly willing to be civil to both you an' my tosser of a Grandsire as long as you treat me the same."

Buffy glared at the other blonde. "Fine; for now, at least."

Spike let out a feral grin. "Of course," he agreed, his voice a silky purr. "For now."

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Spike and Buffy entered the mansion side by side, neither one wanting to turn their back to the other. Despite his outward bravado, Spike was on edge internally. He was well aware that his Grandsire could easily destroy him if he so chose to.

Xander had been a constant presence in the vampire's mind ever since he had picked up on Spike's plan to talk with Angel. The vampire soon found that their bonding had strengthened the mental link between them, and that he could now receive his lover's telepathic messages more easily, though he could not send them in return.

_ "Spike, don't do this," _ Xander pleaded, his fear for Spike's safety almost a tangible substance. _ "You know that Angel will kill you as soon as he sees you. If you want the Challenge cancelled so badly, have Ella or Dalton talk to Deadboy!" _

"Don't start this now, Xan," Spike muttered under his breath, hoping his words would be echoed in his thoughts so Xander would pick them up. "If you want to stay, then stay; but, don't distract me."

_ "I still don't like it." _

"You don't 'ave to," Spike replied, casting a quick glance at Buffy as he spoke. If the Slayer had heard Spike's words, she didn't show any sign of it.

"Buffy! Get away from him!" A new voice roared from behind Spike and Buffy. Angel had appeared in the doorway and lunged at Spike, his gameface a snarling mask of fury. He stopped millimetres away from the smaller vamp, still viciously growling as he attempted to push Spike back.

Refusing to submit to Angel's display of dominance, Spike stood his ground, slipping into his true face and matching his Grandsire's snarl. He bared his razor-sharp canines and hissed defiantly at the souled vampire.

"Cut it out, you two!" Buffy ordered, stepping between the two men and pushing them both back. "How old are you guys? Twelve? Spike said he'd behave, Angel. He needs your help."

Angel's face shifted back to its human guise, but the glare he directed at Spike was no less intense. "Spike's also a compulsive liar," he growled.

"Oi! I am _not_ compulsive!"

"Shut up, Spike," Buffy snapped. She stood in front of her boyfriend, effectively blocking his view of the smaller vampire. "Angel, please," she said quietly, stepping closer to the dark vampire. "You have to listen to what Spike has to say; Xander's life is on the line here."

"Xander?" Angel repeated. "Your friend Xander?"

Buffy nodded. "I don't really understand it all that well, but Spike can explain."

Spike didn't relax. He had known Angel long enough to know better than to let his guard down.

_ "He's got a stake in a trigger mechanism in his left sleeve," _ Xander sent, confirming Spike's suspicions.

"My Childe has Challenged my lifemate, Xander," Spike said, making sure to keep an eye on Angel's sleeve.

Angel's expression didn't change. "Then why do you need me?" Challenges are serious, but they're only to first blood, you know that," he growled. "It's your lack of responsibility that led to your Childe calling the Challenge. You deal with it."

Spike refused to acknowledge the insult. "He called the Blood Rite on Xan," he countered, taking grim satisfaction in seeing Angel's eyes widen in shock. "It was called in your name."

Angel closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Xander accepted?"  
"Yes."

"Shit," Angel cursed, running his hands through his overly gelled hair. "Does he even know what the Challenge entails?"

"Our Order raised him from a baby. Chances are that he's mentally more vampire than human. We're the only family 'e's ever known."

"You're in love with him." It was not a question.

Fierce blue eyes met smouldering brown. "I am. He's my world, mate. I'm prepared to sacrifice anything to save him," Spike said seriously.

"Please, Angel. He's telling the truth," Buffy said quietly, surprising both vampires with her support of Spike. "I've seen him with Xander and it's obvious they're in love."

"Thanks, Slayer."

Buffy scowled at Spike. Her expression made it perfectly clear that she wasn't helping him, she was helping Xander.

Angel sighed and gave the Brit a faint smile, shaking his head in amazement. "I don't know how you manage to get yourself into these situations, Spike." The Irish vampire let out an unneeded breath and gazed intently at his wayward Grandchilde. "Get me all the information you have, and I'll call the Council together."

Spike couldn't stop the broad smile that appeared on his face. "Thanks, Peaches," he said gravely.

"Yeah, well, I'm not promising a success. Just remember that you owe me for this."

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Spike and Ben arrived back at the Order's headquarters about an hour before dawn. Spike felt physically and mentally drained from his meeting with Angel, and wanted nothing more than to curl up next to Xander and sleep for days.

Dismissing Fox and Aiden, Spike entered his quarters, shedding his clothing as he approached the bed. Xander gave him a sleepy smile and opened his arms. Gratefully, Spike crawled into the big man's embrace and pillowed his head on his lover's broad chest.

"I still don't like Deadboy."

Spike gave a throaty chuckle and kissed Xander gently, pulling back when the young telepath tried to deepen it. Xander pouted, using his big chocolate eyes to his advantage. Spike simply smiled and kissed the full lips, purring as he did so.

"You've been trying to pull that one on me since you were a baby, lovely," he rumbled. "Just sleep tonight. I want you to start training with Cooper, Starcat, and Aiden tomorrow."

"I have school."

"Dalton's calling you in sick. I want you to be prepared to fight this sodding Challenge in case Captain Forehead can't convince the Council to cancel it."

Xander gave a petulant sigh, but relaxed against Spike, burying his face in the peroxide blonde's hair. The vampire placed a gentle kiss on the younger male's collarbone and closed his eyes, knowing that nightmares would plague his dreams, but too exhausted to care.


	10. Betrayal of Trust

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Author's Note: Yeah, I know I said that I wouldn't post until Bree cleaned out my car, but then I realised that hell will freeze over sooner. So, here you go. Reviewers, I love you guys. Seriously. Cookies for everybody.

Chapter Seven

An unfamiliar touch to his shoulder jerked Xander out of a dreamless sleep. Instinctively, he lashed out at whomever had the gall to touch him without his permission.

"Master, it's only me!"

Xander's fist stopped millimetres away from Aiden's face. The young man let out a sigh of relief and lowered his arm, shooting a scornful look at the minion. "Shit, Aiden, you know not to touch me, and especially not while I'm sleeping!"

Aiden lowered his eyes in deference to Xander's superior rank. "My apologies, my lord, but it was the fastest way to wake you." Xander shot him a quizzical look. "There are two humans outside, and I heard them mention your name."

Confused, Xander sat up, letting the bedsheets pool around his bare waist. He didn't know many humans, and knew even fewer who would think to look for him in a cemetery. Playing a hunch, he asked, "what do they look like?"

"An older man with glasses and tweed, and a young redheaded girl about your age, milord," Aiden replied, politely turning around to give Xander privacy as he dressed.

"Willow and Giles," Xander muttered as he pulled on his cargos and a clean t-shirt. He grabbed a strand of hemp from the table and used it to tie his long hair back and out of his eyes. Slipping on his Birkenstocks, Xander brushed past Aiden and jogged out of the crypt.

The dark-haired man stepped out into the warm Californian night, the soft April breeze whispering across his skin and ruffling his t-shirt. He looked around, sensing three different people in his immediate surroundings. Confused, Xander turned to face the owner of the third mind he had picked up on.

"Aiden? What are you doing out here?"

As usual, Aiden's face revealed nothing. Xander had always secretly wondered if the vampire had played poker in life.

"Master Spike assigned me to be your personal guard, milord," Aiden replied, falling into step behind Xander.

"Fine, but don't kill Wills or G-Man; they're here to help."

"As you wish, Master."

As soon as Aiden finished speaking, Xander felt a chill go up his spine and an intense feeling of hatred hit him like a physical blow. Spinning around, he saw blazing golden eyes and a flash of razor-sharp fangs and managed to hurl himself to the ground before those fangs descended on his neck. Xander rolled onto his back and kicked up sharply with his powerful legs, catching Aiden hard in the stomach and sending the smaller male crashing to the ground.

"Aiden! What the fuck is wrong with you?" Xander shouted, wiping blood from a cut on his lip. He flipped himself up in a practised move that Cooper had taught him and quickly put some distance between him and his assailant.

The vampire didn't answer, but just let out an animalistic snarl and charged at the young man, fangs flashing in the moonlight. This time, Xander was ready for him and quickly sidestepped out of the way, laying a sledgehammer blow to the back of Aiden's skull.

Using his opponent's brief incapacitation, Xander scooped up a small stick from the ground and straightened up, sensing Aiden's presence behind him. He quickly spun around to meet the minion, but he was too slow.

Xander hit the gravestone with a sickening thud, the blow knocking the wind from his lungs. Coughing up blood, the young man struggled to get his breath back. A booted foot dug viciously under his ribs, rolling him over onto his back.

Aiden gave Xander a cruel smile as he pinned the larger man to the ground. Xander looked up at the vampire, frozen in fear. As if from a distance, he felt something hard under his hand and wrapped his fingers desperately around it. The stick!

"This is how it should be," Aiden hissed, leaning in close to Xander's face. "Vampires are the superior race! Humans belong at their feet, begging for mercy; not leading an entire Order as a Master!" His fingers dug sharply into Xander's shoulders, holding the struggling telepath down.

Xander ignored the pain in his chest and shoulders and fought past the interminable waves of hatred that threatened to obscure his mind. He reached out for Aiden's mind with his own, trying to learn exactly when the vampire would strike.

Aiden, seeing his prey go limp in what he assumed was terror, grinned an evil grin. "Now, _boy,_ you will die!" He wrenched Xander's head to the side, exposing the tanned skin of his throat and lunged forward with a savage roar.

At the same moment, Xander stabbed violently upward with the stick and wrenched his mind free from Aiden's. The minion let out a gurgling cough and turned shocked eyes to Xander before crumbling into dust.

Xander let his head fall back onto the grass, struggling to regain his breath. His ribs hurt abominably where Aiden had slammed him against the gravestone and blood dripped steadily from a wound on his scalp. He glanced at the stick, which he still held in his hand, and threw it as hard as he could, Aiden's dusty remains billowing off of him in clouds of ash.

The horror of what had just occurred hit Xander like a ton of bricks and he curled up on the grass, violently trembling. Aiden had been one of his closest companions growing up and one of Spike's most trusted minions. He hadn't picked up even a passing thought concerning Aiden's treachery and that brought in a new fear.

His mind flashed back to the night when he learned that he would be attending school and the cold fear that he had experienced when Spike had showed him the psychic damper. A sick feeling washed over him at the memory.

As Xander remembered this, a new thought occurred to him: he had only been able to pick up Aiden's thoughts right before the vampire struck, but not at all before. That would mean that the vampire must've dropped the damper right before he attacked; and, if this were true, the damper must still be in the area.

Xander forced himself to his knees and searched frantically around in the grass for the damper. A glint of moonlight reflecting off of metal caught his eye and he picked up the object, a silver chain dangling from it which Aiden must've used to keep the damper on his person. An intense feeling of anger swept through him like wildfire and with a loud, frustrated scream of rage, Xander smashed the damper against the gravestone, not feeling the sharp bite of metal as the pieces bit into his flesh.

Choking back tears, Xander ran as hard as he could across the cemetery, not knowing or caring where he ended up. His lungs burned in his chest and his vision was clouded with a red mist that matched the blood pounding in his ears. He could sense Spike at the back of his mind demanding to know what had happened, and Xander blocked him out with a thought, quickly building up his mental shields.

It was the sound of Giles' voice that brought Xander back to reality. He collapsed onto the ground at the Englishman's feet, his lungs burning from his mad run.

"Good Lord, Xander!" Giles knelt beside the bleeding young man, gingerly holding him as he coughed and gasped for breath. "What happened?"

Willow appeared brandishing a shovel. "Was it Damien? 'Cause, Buffy told us about him and the Challenge and everything, and I kinda have the strange need to beat to a bloody mass of flesh," she said, somehow still managing to sound bright and cheerful.

Xander shook his head, the movement causing the wound on his skull to reopen and blood to slowly trickle down his face. "No," he said hoarsely. "Aiden. One of Spike's fucking _personal_ guards. He was assigned to me, and I _trusted_ that bastard." He let his head fall back against Giles' shoulder, oddly comforted by the presence of other humans.

"Does Spike know about this?" Giles asked, pressing a handkerchief to the young man's scalp to staunch the flow of blood.

"Not specifically, but he does know something serious happened. I found a psychic damper that Aiden dropped and I know Spike has had them before as well. I thought I could trust Aiden, then he tried to kill me; now I don't know if I can trust my own lifemate."

Willow dropped her shovel and pulled Xander into her arms, cradling the big man close. Giles, however, just looked at Xander in confusion. "What do you mean, 'psychic damper?'"

"I'm telepathic," Xander replied reluctantly, knowing that all his cards were now out on the table. "The dampers prevent telepaths from picking up other peoples' thoughts. That's how Aiden was able to attack me so easily." He closed his eyes and rested his head against Willow, her touch soothing to him.

Willow continued to clean the wounds on Xander's scalp and hand as best as she could with the handkerchief, finally wrapping it around his palm to protect the wounds caused by the shards of metal. Unlike Giles, she didn't seem shocked or even fazed by Xander's revelation, and she rubbed the other teen's back soothingly. "I'm sure Spike had nothing to do with it, Xan," she said. "Buffy told us how desperate he was to get the Challenge cancelled, so it wouldn't make sense for him to try to kill you now."

"Unless he's using his opposition to the Challenge to divert unwanted attention to his real plan," Xander muttered darkly.

Willow glared at him and lightly hit his shoulder. "Spike wouldn't do that! He may be evil, but he loves you, Xander. He took a huge risk in dancing with you at the Bronze, but he risked his life, er, unlife, to make you happy. He doesn't seem like the kind of guy to risk his own neck to cover something up."

"He is recorded in the Watchers' Diaries as being rather impulsive and for not carrying out plans very well," Giles commented.

Xander reluctantly let a tiny smile appear on his face. "Spike does kinda suck at planning things," he allowed. His face darkened as a new thought occurred to him. "It has to be Damien," he said, a vampire-like growl rumbling in his chest. "He's trying to make me lose my trust in Spike! If Aiden had succeeded in killing me, Damien wouldn't have to fight the Challenge and he would get Spike by default."

"But how would Damien be able to explain Aiden's attack?" Giles asked.

"Aiden would be pretty easy to dispose of afterward, and Damien could always blame his disappearance on the Slayer." Xander climbed to his feet and looked at Willow and Giles with an intense gaze in his brown eyes. "We need to tell Deadboy about this; it could sway the Council's decision in my favour. If I know vampires as well as I think I do, they won't think too highly of Damien's lack of honour."


	11. Interlude: Escape From Athens

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Author's Note: Two chapters in one week: I'm on a roll! ::cough:: Anyway... This interlude takes place in Athens immediately after the prologue, and it gives a lot more information about Damien, Drusilla's destruction, and Dalton's adoption of Xander. Enjoy!

Interlude: Athens, Greece - 1980

Spike ran as fast as he could out of the apartment building, keeping a firm grip on baby Alexander. The infant was quiet, as if understanding the need for silence, but Spike could feel his heart beating rapidly in his tiny chest in fear.

The Brit could still hear the police officers shouting to each other in Greek, but they sounded much further away than they had been earlier. Spike fervently hoped that the rest of the Order had safely escaped, that they hadn't ended up like poor Dru.

Spike fought back tears of grief as he thought of his dark princess. He knew he shouldn't have left her at their temporary nest, but he had been hungry and sick of hearing her babble incoherently about some prophecy, so he left her in search of food and entertainment.

Alexander whimpered softly in Spike's arms, bringing the vampire back to reality. "Right, pet; it's okay. I'm just thinkin'," Spike murmured, brushing his fingertips across the babe's wispy brown hair. Alexander closed his eyes at the touch and let out a tiny, contented sigh. It was then that Spike remembered what the baby's mother had told him: that she and her son were telepathic. _He's responding to my state of mind,_ Spike realised. _Right, so just stay calm an' the pup will be fine._

Confident that Alexander would stay quiet, Spike stopped and tentatively sniffed the air, trying to pick up the scent of the vampires in his Order. A soft breeze came up from the Mediterranean, and with it came the distinctive scent of the perfume Ella fancied. Risking a quick glance behind him at the apartment building where the young Greek woman still remained, Spike adjusted the infant human in his arms and loped off toward the harbour.

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With a bored sigh, Damien tossed a flat rock into the water, watching it skip across the harbour with an emotionless gaze. He had been a vampire for almost a month now, and he couldn't remember ever being this bored. His Sire, Spike, paid no attention to him; instead, spoiling his own Sire, the mad vampiress, Drusilla.

The fledgling let out a subsonic growl at the thought of Drusilla, but quickly suppressed it when he caught sight of Fox glaring at him. Though now that Dru was out of the way, Spike would have to give Damien the attention he deserved. He smiled to himself, mentally patting himself on the back for coming up with the idea to alert the Athenian police to the Order's presence, and therefore eliminating his rival for Spike's affections.

"Damien! Make yourself useful and help Dalton pack those books on board!" Ben, who had been put in charge in Spike's absence, ordered gruffly from the deck of the stolen vessel. "Master Spike may be your Sire, but that doesn't give you the excuse to slack off and watch the rest of us work, boy!"  
Damien growled at the older vamp behind his back, but obediently got up and picked up the crate of books which he had been sitting on, carrying it onto the ship and down into the hold. Dalton was already there, making sure that all of his precious books were safely on board. Damien sneered at the scholar contemptuously. He had little respect for Dalton, mainly due to the older male's lack of bloodlust.

There was a shout from the deck and both Damien and Dalton hurried to the stairs and up out of the cargo hold. The entire Order of Aurelius stood crowed by the railing, looking toward the harbour's deck, with giant Starcat standing back to guard the captive human crew.

As Damien and Dalton approached, the crowd parted to reveal an irate Spike, who held a bundle of cloth close to his narrow chest. The blonde walked past Damien and stopped in front of Ben, who bowed and lowered his gaze respectfully.

"Report," Spike ordered.

"The nest was raided by the Athenian police, my lord," Ben stated emotionlessly. "We weren't as careful as we originally had thought." He paused hesitantly before continuing. "I regret to inform you, milord, that Lady Drusilla is-"

"Dead. I know," Spike interrupted flatly, his internal pain and grief only showing in his azure eyes. "A telepathic human told me. She helped me escape." He glanced down at the tiny bundle in his arms and held it close. "Are there any human women capable of nursing on board?"

Ben looked at Spike in bewilderment. "Nursing? No, Master. The human crew is entirely male."

"Bugger. Tell them to sail for Crete, then. As soon as we dock, I want you, Ella, Starcat, and that young female, what's 'er name?"

"Cooper, sir."

"Right, an' Cooper to get as much formula, diapers, baby food, an' the like as you possibly can. Got that?"

Damien looked around and was relieved to see that he wasn't the only one who was staring at Spike as if he'd lost his mind. He edged closer to get a better look at the bundle, which Spike carried, but was held back by Dalton.

Everyone looked expectantly at Ben, waiting for him to voice the question that was foremost in every vampire's mind. Spike, as if anticipating the question, drew back a fold of the blanket, revealing a tiny, dark-eyed face. The vampires began to whisper among themselves and Damien's jet-black eyes widened in shock. _He can't be serious_, he thought. _ We prey on humans, not adopt them!_ A subsonic growl rumbled through his slender chest as he glared at the infant.

The baby whimpered and tucked his face closer to Spike. The Englishman's head whipped around and his cold blue gaze was fixed on Damien. With a vicious snarl, Spike backhanded the fledgling, splitting Damien's lip and causing blood to pour from his nose in the process. Damien coughed, choking on blood as he fought back an outcry.

"Keep your opinions to yourself, whelp!" Spike snapped, aiming a kick at the cowering fledge. "The Nibblet picks up thoughts an' emotions, an' I _won't_ stand for you scarin' 'im!" He let his icy gaze drift over every vampire on the ship. "That goes for all of you, understand?"

As the Order hastily lowered their eyes submissively and mumbled various forms of acquiescence, Dalton cautiously approached Spike and the infant. He drew a gentle finger down the boy's cheek and smiled faintly. "He reminds me of my own sons," the scholar said distantly. "What are you going to call him?"

Spike shrugged. "Alexander, I suppose. That's wot 'is mum called 'im, so I don't see any reason t'change it. Maybe Alex or somethin' for short." He looked at the larger male curiously, but Dalton was too enthralled with Alexander to notice.

Carefully, Spike handed Alexander to Dalton, who cradled the babe close. "You raise 'im," the peroxide blonde said after a moment of watching the baby's reaction.

Dalton looked up sharply, giving Spike an incredulous look. "Me, Master?" he repeated in a stunned tone of voice.

"You 'eard me. You're the only one in this entire bleedin' Order who's had kids before. Teach 'im our ways an' how to use that power o'his. The pup'll be our secret weapon when 'e gets older," Spike said, a sinister smile appearing on his angular features.

Damien picked himself up off the deck, wiping ineffectually at the blood running down his face and neck. He glared balefully at the tiny, dark-eyed bundle in Dalton's arms, instantly despising the infant. Shooting a wounded glance at his obviously insane Sire, the young vampire turned and headed dejectedly below decks to his cabin.


	12. One

**Author's Note: Greetings! Sorry about the delay: semester just ended, which means I have brand-new classes to pretend to pass. This chapter is for those who requested more Spike/Xander. It may not be all that detailed, but I try to write sex scenes tastefully, which is less detail for me. Enjoy!**

Chapter Eight

Giles' battered old Citroen pulled up next to Spike's DeSoto on the side of the road. In the back seat, Willow pulled out the first-aid kit and redressed Xander's wounded hand, which had proved to be more serious than either teen had originally thought. With an expression of disgust, Willow stuffed the used, blood-soaked bandage into an empty plastic bag.

"You're going to have to get that checked out by a doctor, Xan" Willow said, concern colouring her voice.

"I'll be fine" Xander said dismissively. He gritted his teeth at the pain as Willow tied a fresh bandage around his sliced palm. Closing his eyes, he focussed his mind and reached for the pain centres in his brain, knowing when he found them by feeling the pain in his hand recede to a dull ache. With his pain under control, Xander turned his attention to the damaged tissue in his palm. He mentally sent energy to the shattered nerve and tissue endings, causing the healing process to speed up. When his palm began to itch, Xander stopped the flow of mental energy and opened his eyes.

Both Willow and Giles were looking at him with identical curious expressions on their faces. "Are you okay? You kinda spaced out for a minute" Willow said.

Xander nodded. "I'm alright, Wills." He glanced out the window at the abandoned mansion that Angel called home. "We should go in. It'll be dawn soon, and I know Spike will want to be back before then." Willow and Giles exchanged dubious glances, but followed Xander out of the car.

As soon as the trio entered Angel's mansion, Xander found himself with an armful of bleach-blonde vampire. Spike gingerly touched the healing wound at Xander's hairline and took the young man's bandaged hand in both of his.

"How bad is it, luv" Spike asked anxiously.

Xander unwrapped the bandage and held out his hand to Spike. The vampire took it and gently brushed a finger down the scabbed-over wound. The edges of the gash now had sensitive new pink skin and the wound itself looked at least a week old. Willow gasped in shock and Spike looked up at the young telepath for an explanation.

Xander carefully flexed his hand and met Spike's concerned blue eyes with a faint smile. "Remember when I was ten and I broke my arm falling off of that horse" Spike nodded. "Remember how it healed in about four days? I did the same thing to heal my hand."

"Was it Damien" Spike asked, his eyes matching the ice in his voice.

"No, but I think he organised the attack. It was Aiden."

"Aiden" Spike repeated in stunned disbelief.

"He caught me off guard, but I managed to dust him." At Spike reproving stare, Xander helplessly held up his hands. "I had no choice! If I didn't dust him, he would've killed me right then and there." As he spoke, Xander telepathically sent Spike the memory of Aiden's attack.

The vampire's eyes had a glassy quality to them as he received the information. Letting out an unneeded breath, Spike shook his head. "Bloody 'ell. I'd like to 'ave gotten some information outta 'im, but that's shot to 'ell now" he muttered. "I'd also like t'know how Aiden got hold of that damper; I've never seen a personal one like that before. Pity you smashed it, Xander."

Xander gave Spike a sheepish smile. "I was angry. Smashing it just kinda felt like the thing to do."

"Xander, could you possibly give me everything you remember about the attack, including anything that happened right before" Angel asked, obviously uncomfortable in the presence of his Childe's lifemate. "I want to be as accurate as possible tomorrow during the Council meeting."

Xander looked at Spike questioningly. The vampire smiled and squeezed his lover's good hand before giving a slight nod. "Alright, Deadboy. This might hurt a little though" Xander said with a grin, enjoying the confused reaction the nickname had elicited from Angel. He took the Irishman's hands and reached out for the other man's mind. Skillfully skirting past the vampire's natural mental barriers, Xander located the area he wanted and quickly transferred the memory. This done, he slowly withdrew his mind and let Angel's hands drop.

Angel winced as the mental link was broken. "Does that always give you a headache" he grumbled, taking a seat between Buffy and Giles. The Slayer rubbed his temples sympathetically.

"Only if you're not used to it, mate" Spike sniggered.

Angel shot the blonde an exasperated look and let out a half-hearted growl. Buffy laughed and stroked his hair affectionately. "I think you two have had enough of each other for one night." She looked at the clock on the wall and made a face. "Also, I should head home; my mother's going to kill me as it is."

Willow too, got to her feet. "Do you mind if I stay at your house? I kinda told Mom that we were studying for the chem test on Monday."

"Looks like I'm going to have to make that up" Xander said ruefully. "The Challenge is set for Monday."

Angel stuffed a stack of papers into a briefcase and stood up to see the others to their respective cars. Buffy gave her boyfriend a quick kiss and threw her arms around Xander, whispering a quiet "good luck" in his ear before climbing into the front seat of the Citroen.

As Xander was about to get into the DeSoto, Angel's voice made him turn around.

"Xander" Angel called from the doorway of the mansion. "Good luck, kid."

Xander could hear and sense the sincerity in the Irishman's voice and allowed himself to give Angel a faint smile. _ "Thanks, Angel" _ he sent as Spike started the car. With a final look at Angel and a quick wave at his friends, Xander opened the door and settled himself into the DeSoto's front seat.

Before he could say a word, Spike hauled Xander across the seat, fiercely capturing the young man's lips in a brutal kiss. Surprised but not disappointed, Xander brought one hand up to cup the back of Spike's head, pulling his lover closer.

"Don't scare me like that again" Spike murmured against Xander's mouth. He tugged at the strand of hemp in Xander's hair; letting the young man's sable locks fall loose around his shoulders. Pushing his lover back against the seat, the vampire let out a sensual purr and tugged at the fly of Xander's cargos.

"Uh, Spike" Xander managed to gasp out between kisses. "I'm, uh, all for sex in the car and everything, but" he tugged Spike's hands out of his pants"I don't want to give Deadboy a free show."

"We'll charge 'im admission then" Spike replied absently, his eyes glazing over with desire. "Poof's so uptight that 'e probably 'asn't 'ad a good wank in decades."

Xander sighed and pulled Spike's wandering hands up and placed them on the seat on either side of his head. "Spike" he said more forcefully, trying not to make his lover's name come out as a breathy moan. Spike simply gave him his trademark shiteating grin and resumed his oral assault on the telepath's neck.

_ "Spike" _ Xander tried again, forcing his way through the cloud of desire that fogged Spike's thought process. _ "I'm serious. Let's continue this at home" _ he pleaded.

Spike growled against Xander's neck, but sat up, giving the young man a deep kiss as he did so. "Fine" he rumbled unhappily. "You win, cub." The vampire scrambled across Xander's legs and settled himself uncomfortably in the driver's seat.

"Thank you" said Xander, sitting up and pushing the need to touch his lover to the back of his mind.

"I am going to shag you into the mattress when we get 'ome, though."

Xander grinned. _ "I'm counting on it." _

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Spike collapsed onto Xander's bare chest, panting despite the fact that he didn't need to breathe. With an effort, the vampire levered himself up onto one elbow and looked down at his exhausted lover with an adoring smile.

_ "We missed the bed" _ Xander sent, still recovering the ability to vocalize. His mind was still closely intertwined with Spike's and he revelled in the intimacy and closeness that gave them.

The vampire looked around, noting with amusement that they had barely made it into their quarters. The pair lay only a few metres away from the door and various articles of clothing were scattered across the room in a wide arc.

"Then I suppose we'll just 'ave to try again" Spike purred, brushing Xander's long sweaty hair back and out of his face. He got off Xander and threw himself down onto the bed, leering at the young man still lying on the rug.

Xander forced himself to his feet and approached the end of the bed. Spike said nothing, just merely smiled and beckoned Xander closer. Images of their previous lovemaking popped into the telepath's head and he closed his eyes briefly.

_ "You're incorrigible" _ Xander sent as he crawled up his lover's slight body to press a forceful kiss to Spike's lips.

"I'm surprised you know what that word means" Spike murmured into the kiss, allowing Xander to take control. He ran his hands down the larger man's sides, pulling him closer and eliciting a quiet moan.

_ "It's one of the only words I got right on last week's vocab quiz" _ Xander replied, biting into Spike's lower lip hard enough to draw blood. The vampire's hands tightened on his hips as the young man gently licked and sucked at the tiny wound he'd made.

Chuckling to himself, Xander trailed his lips down Spike's neck and flicked his tongue against the smaller male's jugular before biting down hard.

Without warning, Xander found himself on his back and staring into a pair of fierce golden eyes. Spike was having trouble controlling his demon and his eyes continually flickered back and forth between blue and gold.

"You keep biting and this" he punctuated his words with a sharp thrust of his hips"won't last very long."

_ "What about vampire recovery time" _ came the cheeky response.

Spike ignored the question and kissed along the broad expanse of Xander's torso, lingering a bit longer at the telepath's Claim mark and navel. Xander could sense the pleasure his lover was getting from tormenting him and he decided that two could play that game.

Xander expanded their already close mental link, allowing Spike to feel Xander's pleasure as strongly as if it were his own. Both males shuddered under the dual sensations and Xander quickly realised that teasing Spike in this way was a double-edged sword.

Spike's eyes had darkened to a rich cobalt blue and he breathed in shallow pants. "Xan" he gasped, unable to coherently finish the sentence. Xander picked up the tail end of the thought and reached out to the nightstand, fumbling for a moment until he found the small white tube.

Pressing the tube into Spike's hand, Xander pulled his lover down for a deep kiss, exploring the inside of Spike's mouth. _ "Spike, now. Need you." _

After several agonisingly long moments of preparation, Spike gently slid into his lover's body, every muscle on his whipcord frame standing out as he resisted the urge to pound into the young man. Xander's fingernails dug into the vampire's back as Spike set a slow, gentle rhythm.

Unbeknownst to Xander, the link that bound his and Spike's minds together steadily went deeper as the young telepath began to lose control.

Xander could feel that they were both close to the edge and looked deep into Spike's eyes, whispering a hoarse "I love you" as he let himself go, distantly feeling Spike's hips jerk violently as the vampire followed.

The thin barrier that separated both minds from completely merging snapped and the two halves became whole. There was no 'Spike' or 'Xander;' there was only 'one.'

Images of events past blew like a whirlwind through their joined minds, creating a jumbled, fragmented view of both of their lives.

FLASH

A small, sandy-haired young man holding onto his sickly mother, hoping that this wouldn't be the fit that took her life.

FLASH

A dark-eyed teen grinning at a confused vampire as he turns over a winning poker hand.

FLASH

A young girl screaming for mercy as a blonde vampire tears out her sister's throat.

FLASH

A young Greek mother looking down at her baby with tears in her eyes.

FLASH

A mad vampiress warning her childe about the coming of a golden boy with the blood of a conqueror.

Cooper awoke suddenly with pain sending red-hot lances through her skull. Cursing a blue streak, the young vampiress absently began pulling clothing out of her duffel bag and got dressed.

"Cooper" Ella asked groggily from their bed, coming awake fully as the same wave of pain hit her as well. "Fuck, what is that" She closed her eyes and pressed the heels of her hands against her forehead, trying to make the pain go away.

The younger woman bared her fangs and tossed a pile of clothes at her lover. "I don't know" she said through gritted teeth. "I'm going to check with the others; if it's just affecting us, then it's probably nothing big." Ella nodded and pulled a sweatshirt over her head, following Cooper out of their room and into the main nest area.

Several other vampires were already present and muttering amongst themselves. Cooper noted with a certain degree of grim satisfaction that Damien was sitting in a corner with two of his followers and was holding his head and cursing at the pain.

More and more of the Order arrived in the large atrium as they awoke in pain. Neither of the two Aurelian Masters, however, were present.

"There's Ben" Ella said, catching sight of the stolid male with Starcat and Dalton near the Masters' quarters. Fox stubbornly guarded the door and refused to be persuaded to move, despite Dalton's panicked pleas. Ben simply focussed on restraining the giant Starcat from tearing the guard limb from limb.

"Look, I was told not to let anybody in" Fox growled, a hand straying to the longsword at his hip. "That means you, Dalton."

"They could be injured" Starcat roared, his needle-sharp fangs gleaming in the torchlight. "Do you want to be responsible for not giving them aid"

Fox didn't budge. "It's better than disobeying Master Spike's orders" he replied.

"He's right, Star" Ella said as she and Cooper joined their companions. Ben let Starcat go when he saw them. Cooper was Starcat's closest friend in the Order and the older male knew that she could restrain his childe far more efficiently.

"If Alexander or Spike were truly hurt, we'd know" Ella continued, attempting to reassure the anxious Dalton. "Other than all of us coming down with a splitting headache, no one's really hurt."

"I know, it's just that this isn't normal."

"What is normal about this Order these days" Damien grumbled snidely from his corner.

Cooper aimed a kick at the younger vamp. "Nobody asked you, twinkie" she snarled.

"I'm just saying"

"You have altogether too much to say, fledgling" Ben interrupted. All conversation stopped at Ben's commanding tone. He glared at the assembled vampires. "As Master Spike's second, I'm taking charge until further notice. If he and Master Alexander don't come out in twenty minutes, I'll go in myself; that way nobody else will have to face Spike's wrath."

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Inside the closely guarded room, two pairs of eyes snapped open simultaneously. Both men experienced a brief moment of panic as they struggled to remember both where and who they were. Gradually the feeling of amnesia faded, leaving a confused vampire and an equally stunned mortal behind.

Spike and Xander exchanged glances, both trying to find the words that could adequately sum up what had just occurred. Spike found his voice first.

"Bloody 'ell."


	13. Before the Storm

**Author's Note: Sorry about the delay. I wanted to wrap this chapter up before it reached ten written pages, but my muse wouldn't let it end. Also, I've kinda been caught up in a new fandom that recently attacked me. Quite literally attacked me. The book fell on me in the bookstore when I was trying to reach something else. Stupid manga... Anyway, enjoy!**

Chapter Nine

Spike was in a foul mood. It was Sunday night: the night before the dreaded Challenge that would decide his lover's fate, and there still had been no word from Angel.

After Aiden's murder attempt, Spike had assigned Ben's loyal childe, Starcat, to be Xander's guard. The two seemed to be getting on well, and the young vampire was thoroughly enjoying his promotion. He, Ben, and Cooper had taken over Xander' Challenge training with Dalton watching anxiously from a safe distance and Ella attempting to placate both the worried scholar and the unpredictable Spike.

Today, however, Ella kept her distance.

Spike was perched on a headstone outside of the lair watching Xander spar with Starcat. Both had the same brawny build, though the vampire did have the advantage of being slightly taller than Xander.

Through their close mental link, which had formed as a result of the gestalt that had exploded through their minds two nights ago, Spike could tell that both Xander and Starcat were pulling their punches.

Making a quick decision, Spike unlaced his Docs and pulled them and his socks off. He hopped off the headstone, discarding both duster and tee shirt as he stood barefoot on the soft grass. Blocking off the link as Xander had shown him, Spike cut in between Starcat and Xander, shoving the younger vampire to the side.

"Master?" Starcat asked in confusion.

"I'm closest to Damien in height and weight," Spike replied curtly, catching his lover off guard with a sharp right hook. "Fighting someone who's smaller'n you is very different than fighting someone the same size."

A particularly hard kick sent the young man sprawling. Dalton started to rush over to his foster son, but Ella restrained him. "He's doing this for Alexander's own good," she said quietly. "Damien won't hold back like Starcat or Cooper."

Spike knew from past experience that Xander was using his telepathy to anticipate what was coming next, but the young man was still far too slow. He managed to land a glancing blow to Spike's shoulder, but wasn't quick enough to dodge the counterattack. A roundhouse kick caught Xander on the side of his head and sent the youth crashing to the ground.

Spike was on him in an instant, taking Xander's head in both hands and twisting at an almost painful angle. Xander tried to struggle, but it was no use: Spike's grip was like iron.

"If I were Damien, you'd be dead by now," Spike said harshly. He let go of his lover's head and let the youth up. Xander shakily got to his feet, looking uneasily at Spike.

The vampire calmly pulled his shirt and Doc Martens back on, trying not to look at the hurt expression on his love's face and continually reminding himself that he did that for Xander's own good. Throwing his duster over one shoulder, Spike stalked moodily back into the lair.

"Don't just teach 'im 'ow to fight," Spike said caustically over his shoulder. "Teach 'im 'ow to survive."

* * *

As soon as Spike was out of sight, Dalton rushed over to his stunned foster son. An angry bruise was beginning to form on Xander's cheekbone; but, other than that, the youth appeared unharmed.

"I'm alright, Dalton," Xander told the fussing scholar. "I'm just lucky that Spike's small; otherwise that kick would've hurt a lot more."

Dalton wasn't convinced. "Are you sure? Do you want to rest for a bit? I'm sure we have ice packs around here somewhere-"

"Yes, I'm sure; no, I don't want to rest; and I don't need an ice pack," Xander interrupted, effectively putting an end to Dalton's frantic questioning.

He looked over at Ben, who had calmly been watching from a safe distance. "Spike's right; this basic training isn't getting us anywhere. I need the more advanced stuff or I'm not going to last ten seconds in the Challenge ring."

Ben sighed and ran a hand through his shaggy black hair. "I wish we had the time to teach it to you, milord, but there's no way you can master both basic and advanced techniques before sunrise," he said apologetically.

"The gestalt," Cooper, who had been silent up until then, said suddenly. "The one that gave us all a fuckin' great headache and linked you and Spike. You said that it gave you access to all his memories, right?"

Xander nodded.

"Then can't you just tap into his combat knowledge?"

"Yeah, but it's not that simple. I may have all of Spike's knowledge, but knowing something and using it are two different things," Xander explained. "Everything's familiar, but that's about it."

Ben walked over to stand in front of the young telepath, discarding his outer shirt and handing it to Starcat. He adopted a guard stance and beckoned for Xander to do the same. "Have that knowledge ready and trust your instincts. I'm not going to hold back, so you have to use everything you've go to keep me on my toes."

The vampire hadn't even finished speaking before he launched a flurry of attacks, mixing punch and kick combinations. Xander didn't have time to think, his reaction was purely instinctual.

Darting to the side, the telepath dodged a lightning-fast jab to his throat and leaped over a sweeping kick that was meant to knock him off his feet. He rolled his shoulder back, causing Ben's next punch to glance off and throwing the smaller man off balance.

Using Ben's momentary slip to his advantage, Xander stepped inside the vampire's reach, the close proximity making it nearly impossible to punch or kick effectively. Mustering all of his strength, Xander hurled himself at Ben, taking the vampire in the midsection and pinning him to the ground.

Two hundred pounds of solid muscle hit Ben like a freight train, knocking the wind from his lungs and temporarily stunning him. Xander straddled his legs and pulled the other man's arms behind his back, effectively rendering him immobile.

"Alright! Xander! _Xander!_ Let him up before you break something!"

Dalton's voice broke through Xander's bloodlust and the young mortal immediately let go of Ben, horrified at how easily he had been consumed by the need for violence. He babbled apologies incessantly at Ben, but the stolid vamp brushed them off.

"Relax, milord, no harm done," Ben said, wiping blood from a split lip. He rubbed the back of his neck with his other hand and smiled grimly at Xander. "That's what I wanted you to do, alright. Use the same techniques against Damien; he'll never be able to stand his ground when you put your whole weight behind your attacks. You've got the advantage of being much bigger than your opponent, so don't be afraid to exploit it."

Xander nodded weakly, his energy completely sapped by the rush of adrenaline. He slumped down on the grass and leaned back against a gravestone to catch his breath, but Cooper hauled him back onto his feet.

"Keep walking," she advised. "Sitting down will only do you more harm."

Reluctantly, Xander allowed Cooper to lead him around the borders of their territory. He leaned lightly against her for support as they walked in silence.

A thought had been niggling at Xander in the back of his mind for some time, and he figured that he had best address it before it was too late.

"Hey, Coop?" he asked softly, feeling like he was fourteen again and asking the young female for advice.

"Yeah?"

"If I," he hesitated, the thought frightening him too much to vocalise it. _Just say it, Harris,_ a part of his mind scolded him. "If I die tomorrow, promise me you'll watch over Spike, okay? I don't want him to do anything stupid and get himself hurt," he finished quietly.

Cooper heard the fear in his voice and simply nodded, understanding that Spike would likely become a danger to both himself and the rest of the pack if Xander died. The youth liked that about Cooper; she never gave anyone false hope.

"I'll keep an eye on Dalton too," Cooper said. She looked at Xander squarely in the eyes. "That old fogy loves you more than you'll ever know, Xan. He thinks of you as his true son, not as a foster, you know."

Xander looked away. "I know. I wish I had treated him better," he said regretfully. "I always used to pull the "you're not my real father" card to get what I wanted. Now I just wish I could take it back. That was the one thing I could say that would hurt him the most." His voice trailed off to a hoarse whisper as he fought back tears.

Cooper pulled the big man close and rubbed his back soothingly. "He knows you didn't mean it, kid. You were little when you said that," she said awkwardly, unused to providing comfort. She glanced anxiously up at the sky, which was beginning to lighten with the coming of dawn.

Xander picked up the thought and he too, looked up at the sky. "Let's head back," he said. Mentally, he scolded himself for acting like an overemotional teenaged girl. "I'm going to sleep until six, then I'll come back out here and warm up until sunset. The Challenge is set for eight, so that should give me enough time."

"Make sure you eat something light," Cooper reminded him as they jogged back to the crypt. "Though throwing up on Damien in the middle of the Challenge does have a sort of poetic justice to it," she added with an evil snicker.

* * *

Spike was sitting on the end of the bed when Xander walked in. The blonde studiously examined the chipped black lacquer on his fingernails and refused to look up at his lifemate.

The distress that Spike was broadcasting was making it hard for Xander to think, but he didn't dare put up his shields with the vampire in his current mental state. Instead, he sat on the bed and rubbed Spike's tense shoulders, feeling the taut muscles relax a bit under his touch.

_"Can we talk?" _

Spike scooted away from Xander's touch. "I'd prefer to vocalize," he replied tonelessly.

Xander shrugged, knowing that Spike was still uncomfortable with communicating telepathically. "Fine by me; it's not like we can hide anything from each other anyway." He let his sandals drop to the floor and arranged himself so that he was sitting cross-legged.

"Look, I know that whatever it was that happened two nights ago was freaky, and it probably would've registered on the Richter Scale if that measured freakiness," Xander began. "But we've just got to run with it. I know you're all wigged out about the link, and trust me, some of your memories haven't exactly been a walk in the park for me either." He reached out and took Spike's hand, rubbing his thumb over the smooth skin. "We have to try to work it through it."

Spike looked down at their joined hands and smiled bitterly. "You're so bloody optimistic, y'know that?" His smile faded and a faraway look appeared in his eyes. "Dru was like that. Thought we could do anything, she did. She's the reason that I didn't kill you, y'know."

"I know. If the police hadn't destroyed her when they did, you would've killed both my mother and me. My mom saved you when she warned you about the attack, and you spared me in return. A life for a life." Xander fought to keep his voice neutral as he spoke. He had known from a very early age that he was still alive only due to a strange twist of fate, but he preferred not to dwell on such thoughts.

A gentle squeeze to his hand made him look back at Spike, whose age was now visible in his deceptively youthful eyes.

"I may joke about being love's bitch, but it's true," the vampire said tiredly. "Everyone I've ever loved has left me in some way: Cecily, Dru, Angelus, hell, even my mum. I can't lose you too, Xan."

Xander grinned in an admittedly weak attempt to lighten Spike's gloomy mood. "I'll figure something out. No one can keep the Xan-man down for long, right?"

Spike lied down and pulled a blanket up to his chest, his eyes never leaving Xander's. _"I hope you're right, love," _he sent.

Feeling the vampire's reluctance to continue the conversation, Xander curled up beside him and kissed his cheek. _"Hey, the Powers That Be changed your mind about killing me when I was a baby; maybe they'll come through for me this time too." _He threw an arm around Spike's waist and snuggled close to the vampire, using the narrow chest as a pillow.

_"Again, I hope you're right." _

* * *

Xander bounced lightly on the balls of his feet as he struggled to control his anxiety. It was seven-thirty and Ben had advised him to rest and collect his energy so he wouldn't wear himself out by warming up.

A neutral Order had been selected to guard both fighters and the Challenge ring itself. The Master of the Order of Tertius, a stuffy, weasel-like male name Julian, took his seat as judge.

Xander shifted uncomfortably under the curious gaze of his guard. She didn't want to be there any more than Xander did and was hoping that it would be a quick fight.

Scowling, Xander blocked out the guard's stray thoughts and paced round the perimeter of the warm-up ring. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Spike, Dalton, and the others sitting on gravestones outside the Challenge ring. Spike's face was expressionless as usual, but Dalton looked like he was going to be sick.

"Master?"

Xander looked up at the sound of the guard's voice. She was uncomfortable with addressing him by rank, but she gave no outward sign of it.

"The Challenge is about to begin," she said. "If you would step inside the ring, Master Julian will announce the rules and we can begin."

The guard held aside the chain to allow Xander to enter the Challenge ring and hooked it back up behind him. The young telepath kicked off his Birks and pulled his long hair back and out of his eyes. He didn't want to risk having his vision obscured for even a split second.

Julian, the Master of the Order of Tertius, rose from his chair and bowed low to Spike, who inclined his head in acknowledgement.

"My lords; my ladies," Julian began, bowing his head to both sides of the spectators. "Tonight we shall witness a Blood Rite called by Fledgling Damien Merquise and answered by Master Alexander Harris, both of the Order of Aurelius." Here he turned to face the Challenge ring.

"You both have been informed of the rules of the Blood Rite: no weaponry may be used at any time; both combatants must stay within the confines of this arena; and, the Challenge will end only when one of the combatants is destroyed.

"Are both combatants ready?"  
Xander swallowed heavily and nodded. "Ready."

"Let's get this thing started already!" Damien spat.

Julian nodded and took his seat. "Very well. Let the Challenge begin."


	14. Blood Rite

**Author's Note: Sorry about the delay, everybody. School's been hell lately and I'm just swamped with work. Also, sorry about this chapter not being as long as the others. I promise, the others will be longer! Anyway, without further ado, here's the long-awaited Challenge between the Xan-man and Damien!**

Chapter Ten

With an animalistic roar, Damien launched himself at Xander, catching the other man off guard. Both men went crashing to the ground in a flailing, tangled heap of limbs.

Realising the danger in being on his back, Xander kicked up sharply, unconsciously mimicking a move that had worked against Aiden in the past. Damien, however, managed to dodge nimbly aside before those powerful legs caught him in the midsection. He backed off, growling warily.

Xander scrambled to his feet and took up a defensive position, his eyes never leaving his opponent. Every muscle in his body was drawn tight as a bowstring as he waited for Damien's next attack, not daring to make the first move lest he fall into a trap.

Warning bells went off in Xander's mind as he picked up a thought from Damien. The fledgling charged again, but Xander was ready for him this time. He met Damien halfway and bulled his shoulder into the smaller man's chest, throwing him off balance.

Xander gripped Damien by the shoulders and jerked his knee upward and into the vampire's stomach. Damien roared in pain, but managed to sink his fangs into the flesh of Xander's shoulder. Biting his lip to keep from crying out, Xander grabbed Damien by the back of his neck and threw him to the ground, ripping the skin of his shoulder as he did so.

Damien backed away carefully, now aware that he couldn't win the fight through headlong charges. He growled softly and licked blood from his lips.

"Not as easy as you thought it would be, eh, bloodbreath?" Xander taunted, trying to trick his opponent into doing something rash.

Damien chuckled, refusing to take the bait. "I haven't even started yet, boy," he sneered. With supernatural speed, he aimed a roundhouse kick at Xander's head before the telepath had time to register the warning thought.

Xander went down hard, blood streaming from his nose and mouth. He had landed on his right arm at an awkward angle and one flex of his muscles told him it was broken. Coughing up blood, Xander struggled to stand, but his injured left arm would not support his weight: Damien's fangs had torn the muscle, effectively crippling the youth.

With a throaty chuckle, Damien straddled his prey. He grinned a toothy grin, bringing his face close to Xander's. "Actually, this was about as easy as I thought it would be," he purred. Laughing mockingly at Xander, Damien's head darted toward the telepath's exposed throat.

* * *

Angel cursed violently in Gaelic as he paced. He had presented his case before the High Council three days previous and they had finally agreed to vote on it an hour ago. 

The vampires of the Council had poked and prodded at Angel's case, looking for holes or inconsistencies in his story. Finally coming to a consensus that Xander had been made a Master under the traditional vampire law, the Council agreed to vote on a cancellation. Angel had been thanked for his time, and told to wait outside.

Stuck inside the building as he was, Angel had no way of knowing whether it was night or day. The Challenge could've already started and ended for all he knew.

With a sigh, Angel sat on the floor and leaned back against the wall, staring at the door to the main audience chamber. He could only hope that he wasn't too late.

* * *

Damien's fangs flashed in the moonlight as he leaned toward Xander's throat. Thinking quickly, the young man fought against the waves of pain that coursed through his shredded arm as he flung a handful of dirt into Damien's golden eyes. 

The vampire let out a yelp of pain and surprise and released Xander to furiously rub the grit out of his eyes. Xander scooted out of the way and struggled to get to his feet before Damien's vision cleared.

Knowing his arms were completely useless, Xander charged at the temporarily blinded vampire, slamming his head into Damien's. Blood dripped steadily down the side of Xander's face from a shallow cut at his temple. Damien's fangs had cut into his skin during the collision, but the vampire wasn't as fortunate as Xander. He coughed and spat, blood coming up as well as several white objects.

Damien stared in disbelief at the fangs he had spat out, his vision now cleared enough for him to see. "You'll pay for that, whelp!" he snarled. Seizing the mortal by the throat, he threw him into a headstone as if he weighed nothing.

Xander felt a flare of pain blossoming down his spine and heard a sickening crunch as his head hit the gravestone. A red mist began to obscure his vision as he focused on his assailant. _If I'm going down, I'm taking him with me,_ he thought grimly.

Damien stood over Xander, laughing mercilessly. "I have to admit, boy; you put up more of a fight than I thought you would. But now, the game is over. Once I deal with you, Spike will finally be mine." He spat scornfully, blood and spittle landing on Xander's cheek. "Sweet dreams, whelp."

Xander wasn't listening. He focused all of his pent-up rage and hatred for Damien into a tight ball of energy. The feeling of warm spittle hitting his cheek pushed him over the edge, drawing on the gestalt that had bound him and Spike together. With a loud roar, Xander unleashed the energy at Damien before the red mist swallowed him completely.

* * *

As soon as Spike heard the sickening sound of Xander's body hitting the gravestone, he knew it was all over. A rage unlike any other he had felt before filled him and he jumped to his feet, racing toward the Challenge ring. 

"Master Spike! What are you doing? You can't go down there!" Dalton yelled frantically, running to catch up with the younger vampire.

"Too bad," Spike growled through gritted fangs, his eyes flickering to gold. "I'm going to tear Damien to pieces. He'll beg for death before I'm done with 'im!"

Abruptly, Spike was stopped in his tracks by a familiar pull on his mind and he looked into the ring. Damien was standing over Xander and talking to him, but Spike couldn't hear what was being said due to the blood pounding in his head. Xander was drawing on him for energy, but for what purpose?

Dalton held onto Spike as the Englishman staggered. "Master? What's wrong, what's happening?"

"The gestalt," Spike gasped. "He's trying to trigger the gestalt!"

Spike had barely finished speaking when a burst of pure energy struck Damien squarely in the chest, burning a hole through the fledgling's flesh. Damien screeched in pain as flames seemed to consume him from the inside out. Seconds later, there was nothing left but dust.

Spike stared in shock at the spot where Damien had stood seconds ago before realizing there was something else missing: Xander. He couldn't feel Xander's presence in his mind. With a howl like an injured animal, Spike launched himself over the fence and into the Challenge ring.

Xander lay still against the tombstone, his eyes closed and a peaceful look on his face. Spike gathered the broken body of his lover into his arms and rocked fitfully back and forth, keening softly in his grief.

Dalton stopped a few feet away from his Master, unsure as to what to do. He wanted nothing more than to grieve with Spike over the body of the youth who had been the closest thing he had to a son, but he knew he needed to give Spike space.

A hand reached up and gently touched the scholar's shoulder. Dalton turned around to find a tiny blonde girl breathing heavily next to him.

"Are you Dalton?" she gasped, exhausted from her run.

Baffled, Dalton nodded.

"Good," the girl panted. "Angel just called. The Council just cancelled the Challenge."

**Author's Note: Alright, don't kill me! The fic's not done yet! I'm not sure how long it's going to take me to write the next chapter, but I promise it'll be longer than this one. Ja!**


	15. Fallen

**Author's Note: Here it is, the eleventh chapter of Golden Boy. Sorry about the delay, but I've got three other WIPs going on at the same time at the moment, so I'm rotating my updates. _Window to the Soul_ is up next, so any FAKE fans out there can look forward to that. Enjoy!**

Chapter Eleven

Dalton let out a bitter smile at the cruel twist of fate, rose-hued tears making their way down his cheeks. The girl, a Slayer judging from the speed in which she had arrived, looked at him impatiently and fiddled with a small silver cross at her throat. Slowly, she began to realise something was wrong.

"What happened? Where's Xander?"

Dalton moved aside and pointed to Spike. "He killed Damien, but it took the last of his strength to do it."

Buffy shoved past Dalton only to freeze in horror as she spotted the blood-soaked body encased in the vampire's arms. "Oh, God. Xander," she whispered, her eyes widening in fear. The noise Spike was making was unlike anything she'd ever heard, at the same time both horrible and heart-wrenching. "Is he dead?" she asked once she found her voice.

"I'm not sure. Master Spike is very likely to be aggressive toward anyone who approaches."

A wave of anger hit the Slayer and she ducked under the chain barrier and into the arena. "He could be still alive! We need to get him to a hospital!"

Spike looked up with a snarl as Buffy approached, his golden eyes flashing in warning. The body in his arms didn't move.

"Spike," Buffy began, reaching for the vampire's shoulder. "Spike, we need to know if Xander's still alive, so we can get him to a hospital. He'll die if he doesn't get help soon." The Slayer spoke slowly as if speaking to a child or a wild animal.

"I can't feel 'im," Spike whispered hoarsely, still rocking slowly. His eyes, blue now, were unfocused and seemed to look through Buffy, rather than directly at her. "I can't feel 'im," he repeated.

"What do you mean?" Buffy asked, trying to make sense of the grieving vampire. "You can't feel a heartbeat?"

Spike raised a hand stained crimson with Xander's blood to his head. "In here. I can't feel 'im," he rasped.

"Something happened a few nights ago that bound them together mentally," Dalton said quietly, kneeling next to Spike. "We're not sure what it was, but Xander harnessed its power and used it to destroy Damien."

Buffy had stopped listening, instead focusing all of her attention on the almost imperceptible movement of Xander's chest. She reached out tentatively with her hand, afraid that if she moved too quickly, the young man would stop breathing. Very faintly, she could feel warm puffs of air hit the palm of her hand as Xander exhaled.

"He's alive," she whispered, not quite believing what she saw.

"Dalton looked up sharply from his task of trying to placate his Master."What?" His eyes flickered to where Buffy's hand hovered over Xander's mouth. "But, but that's impossible!" he stammered. "Spike should be able to sense him!"

"He's breathing, only the living do that in my book," Buffy replied as she moved her hand to Xander's breast. "His heart's beating. Faintly, but it's beating." She looked up at Dalton. "I need your help. We need to get him some medical attention as soon as possible," she said urgently.

Dalton nodded and signalled to a tall, lanky vampire with a longsword strapped to his back. "Fox, bring the DeSoto around, then wait here with the rest. Ben, you're in charge until Master Spike returns," he instructed.

"I'll drive and wait with you and Master Spike at the hospital," the scholar said, turning back to Buffy. "I'm assuming you'd feel safer that way?"

Buffy nodded. "Angel told me you're not much of a fighter, and Spike's really not in any position to attack me." If agreeing to a truce, albeit a temporary one, with the vampires was what she had to do in order to save Xander, then so be it.

Fox pulled up next to them in the DeSoto. Buffy looked anxiously at Spike, wondering how they were going to convince the grief-crazed vamp to get in the car. Dalton too, hesitated before lightly touching Spike's shoulder. "My lord, we must get Xander to a hospital. We haven't lost him yet, but we will if we don't hurry," he said gently.

To Buffy's surprise, Spike rose to his feet without a word, gently cradling Xander close. Fox quickly opened the door to the back seat and helped Spike settle both himself and Xander comfortably.

"Guess I've got shotgun, then," Buffy muttered to herself as Dalton helped her up.

"Are you staying tonight?"

"Yeah; I think I'll call Willow and Giles too. They'll want to be there when Xander wakes up. My mom'll understand why I'm not in school," Buffy replied. She shut the door as she settled into the passenger seat of the DeSoto.

Dalton nodded and started the car. "The three of you will be safe; you have my word."

"For now," a rough voice snarled from the back seat. "Now cut the fuckin' chatter an' drive, Dalton!"

* * *

"Well, that was certainly interesting," Master Julian said thoughtfully. "Far more interesting than I had expected this Challenge to be."

Ben bowed respectfully to the Master vampire. "That's Master Alexander for you: he's anything but predictable." He glanced out toward the road where the DeSoto had disappeared moments ago. "I can only hope the kid pulls through; Master Spike's sanity depends on his survival."

"Yes, I noticed that Spike had a rather unhealthy obsession with the boy," Julian sniffed airily. "You Aurelians certainly have had your share of unusual Masters: Angelus was cursed with a soul, Drusilla was batshit insane, and now Spike has Claimed a human child as his mate!" He shook his head in mock sadness. "And to think that yours was one of the most prestigious Orders..."

Ben shot Julian a venomous look. "I think it's time for you to take your minions and leave, Master Julian," he growled meaningfully. No uptight prick like Julian was going to just stand there and insult his Order.

Julian smiled thinly. "Of course. Good night, Benjamin," he said, executing a mocking bow before slinking off with his vampires into the night.

"Fucking prick," Ben muttered under his breath. He turned and stalked moodily back to the edge of the arena where Fox, Cooper, and several others were cleaning up the remains of the Challenge. All evidence of the fight would need to be removed to avoid arousing suspicion among the mortal herds.

"Sire!"

Ben closed his eyes and counted to ten before turning to face Starcat. "Aren't you supposed to be helping the cleanup crew?"

Starcat blinked. "Well... yeah, but you need to see this!"

"See what?" Ben could feel the last vestiges of his patience slipping away.

"A prophesy. Ella found it, and she thinks Master Spike is mentioned in it."

Ben's eyes widened. Prophesies were not to be taken lightly and if Ella could decipher some of it, then the events it described had already been set in motion. He quickened his stride, forcing Starcat to scramble to catch up. "Show me," he snarled.

* * *

Xander's admittance to the hospital had gone without much of a hitch. Dalton had identified himself as Xander's father and told the nurse on duty that the youth had been beaten by a gang of teenagers on the way home from work. The nurse seemed to accept the story and barely glanced at Dalton's faux ID.

Spike bit his lip hard enough to draw blood as the technicians quickly inserted a catheter into Xander's arm and started his fluids. His mate's skin still had that deathly grey pallour to it, but the lead tech firmly reassured him that she had seen people walk away from far worse. Spike could tell she was lying.

"Master?" Dalton was at his side with a mixture of worry and sympathy on his face. "Do you want me to get you anything?"

Spike nodded distractedly as he turned back to the waiting room. "Coffee. Black. Get the Slayer a cappuccino or something." Dalton nodded and wordlessly padded away.

Taking a seat next to Buffy, Spike leaned back and closed his eyes. Humans were too bloody fragile; that was why Spike had tried to avoid getting attached to the boy. He couldn't lose another loved one.

"What are you going to do if Xander recovers?" Buffy asked quietly.

"_When_ Xander recovers," Spike corrected, "and you won't have to worry about me. I'll be taking Xan and leaving."

"For good?"

"Yeah. Too many soddin' memories here. I'll leave Ben in charge of the pack, but he'll probably leave town as well."

Dalton returned with the drinks and sat down, setting the drink tray on the table. The scholar fiddled with his glasses, cleaning them furiously on his shirt.

"You're like a vampy version of Giles," Buffy commented, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "He's my Watcher. He's always cleaning his glasses like that when he's stressed."

Dalton gave her a faint smile. "It's a habit I've had since I was a boy."

Spike ignored the pair, instead focusing his attention entirely on the door where the technicians had wheeled Xander. A thousand questions raced through his mind, some of them the doctor could answer, some she could not.

"Is there a William Stuart here?"

Spike looked up sharply at the nurse's voice. "I'm William," he said gruffly, trying to hide his anxiety. Had Xander died? Had he woken up? Were there any complications with his surgery?

"You have a phone call, sir. A man named Benjamin," the nurse replied. "Follow me."

Spike wanted to scream in frustration. He bit his tongue and followed the portly woman into the reception area.

"Park twenty-two," she said, handing Spike the phone before walking away.

Ben's voice came on the other line as soon as Spike punched in the correct digits. "Master, we've found something?"

"Could it save Xan?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Then I don't want to hear it," Spike snapped irritably.

"Wait, my lord!" Ben pleaded. "Ella found a prophesy. It was in the Lady Drusilla's old trunk."

Spike's curiosity was piqued. "What kind of prophesy," he ventured.

"We're not sure yet. We think it's saying something about an apocalypse."

_Of course._ "Why should I care?"

"It mentions you, Master." Ben's voice was completely serious. "'The Bloodied childe of Aurelius,' it says. Ella's still translating the rest. It's in some sort of ancient script similar to Greek. _The Prophesy of Drypetis_, it's called."

The name meant nothing to Spike. "Call me when you find out more," he ordered.

"Of course, my lord. I'll be in touch."

Spike set the phone back in its cradle and nodded his thanks to the nurse. Outside the office, the vampire leaned against the wall and shut his eyes. An apocalypse. Fan-bloody-tastic.

**Author's Note: Don't kill me about the cliffhanger::hides: I will get into the prophesy in the next chapter, so it'll make more sense then. Any history buffs out there might recognise the name 'Drypetis,' but that's all I'm saying.**


	16. Waking

**A/N: Hey, I'm back! Senior year has started and I'm losing my mind. However, Golden Boy is finished, but I still have to type up about four more chapters to finish it off on the web. The sequel to it is called "Royal Heart" and will be up as soon as I finish posting the last few chapters of GB. Enjoy!**

Chapter Twelve

"Alexander! Wake up, child!"

Xander opened his eyes and squinted in the bright sunlight. He groaned, throwing an arm over his eyes to block out the painful glare. His _right _arm.

Wait a minute...

Xander's eyes snapped open and he sat up. He flexed the arm experimentally, feeling no pain from the limb that had surely been broken during the Challenge. He stared at it in wonder, clenching his hand into a fist and opening it again.

Now that he thought about it, he felt no pain at all from his previously crippled body. All of his wounds had disappeared as if they'd never existed.

"The body you're in is a temporary one; that's why you're not injured," an unfamiliar voice commented from behind Xander.

The youth jumped and scrambled to his feet. He stared suspiciously at the oddly dressed man who now stood before him. A tall dark-haired man lounged in a chair to his left, looking entirely bored by the situation. Both men were dressed in expensive looking silk robes that appeared either Asian or Middle-Eastern to Xander's untrained eye.

"Who are you?" Xander asked cautiously, prepared to run if he picked up anything threatening from either stranger. Not that he had any idea _where_ to run; he still hadn't figured out exactly where he was.

The blonde man spread his hands disarmingly and gave Xander a faint smile. "We're friends," he said elusively. "Distant family, to be more precise."

That caught Xander's attention. "Family?" he repeated. He knew next to nothing about his family, other than the fact that his mother was Greek. Spike had always skillfully steered the conversation away from the subject every time Xander brought it up. "You're a cousin?"

A half-amused snort came from the sable-haired man. "Not exactly," he said wryly. Rising from the lounge chair, the coltish man headed into the small cottage and motioned for his companion and Xander to follow. "We'll explain everything inside, child."

Xander hesitated and threw an unsure glance at the blonde, who seemed a bit friendlier than his companion. The man gave Xander a reassuring smile and followed the other man into the cottage.

"Have a seat, child," the blonde said, gesturing to a large chair as he reclined on the couch next to his partner. The other man continued to stare at Xander with an open curiosity.

Xander sat. He could pick up nothing from either male, which made him more than a little uneasy. It didn't feel like they were using any psi suppressants, but he did keep his eyes peeled for any sign of the tell-tale black box.

"I suppose we should start with who we are," the blonde said. "My name is Alexandros, and this is Hephaestion. We're your ancestors."

"Ancestors?" Xander repeated. "So, I'm dead?"

Hephaestion shook his head. "No. You're in the realm of the gods, the Powers That Be, as you call them. We were only able to bring you here because of your current comatose state."

"That still doesn't explain _why_ I'm here. What's so important that you needed to bring me here?"

"The apocalypse, boy," Hephaestion replied, his black rimmed eyes narrowing as he leaned forward. "You're a key player due to your bloodlines. Had that vampire not interfered, you'd have learned of this sooner." His voice came out as a low growl and Alexandros squeezed his arm in warning.

"You mean if I had stayed with my mother," Xander stated, instantly disliking the tall man's attitude. "Spike said that she couldn't afford to take care of me, that I'd be put in a foster home."

Alexandros nodded, absently rubbing his companion's arm. "You would have, though not because your mother couldn't afford you. She wanted to hide your identity, that's why she told William you were half American. Your real father was killed because he was my descendant. There are those in Europe who want to exterminate my bloodline and by marrying one of Hephaestion's blood, your father became a threat to those groups."

"If they were to find out that you existed, you'd essentially be a walking corpse," Hephaestion added. "They would stop at nothing to hunt you down."

Xander let out a heavy sigh and ran a hand through his dark hair. "So I've gotta deal with these guys as well as the apocalypse?" He shook his head. "And I thought things were complicated back in Sunnydale."

He leaned back in his chair and studied the two men intently. Nothing about them seemed out of the ordinary; Xander couldn't see why anyone would want to so fanatically destroy their families. "Are you telepaths?" he asked. "I know my mother was, so does it run in our family?" Telepathy was the only reason he could think of for his family's extermination.

"Only in the most recent generations and only in my descendants," Hephaestion replied. "Yours is an unusual talent, though. No other telepath has ever been able to fight because they suffer their opponent's pain. This link you have with your vampire is also a first, though others have made use of the gestalt on their own."

Xander involuntarily shivered at the mention of the unstable energy that had bound Spike and him together. The less he used its power, the better it seemed.

He rubbed his suddenly painful left shoulder and winced. The room had taken on a blurry quality and Xander rubbed furiously at his eyes to clear them.

Alexandros moved to kneel in front of Xander. The youth struggled to focus on his ancestor as his vision darkened. Panic was beginning to build despite his best attempts to keep his emotions under control.

"They're bringing you round, Alexander; that's why you're fading out," Alexandros said, taking Xander's hands in both of his own. The blonde man sounded as if he were speaking from a great distance. Xander strained all of his senses to hear the last words as his vision faded to black.

"Look to your past to find your future, child. Find the royal sunburst and your journey will begin."

* * *

Spike's eyes snapped open as Xander's mind exploded into his. The youth was unconsciously broadcasting his extreme fear and confusion as he awoke in an unfamiliar room. Willow, who was seated in a chair near Spike, instantly rushed to Xander's side as even she picked up his distress.

"Get the nurse and tell her to bring a mild sedative," Spike barked as he took his mate's head in his hands. "He's too stressed to put up his shields an' I can't block 'im alone! The last thing we want is for him to trigger that bloody gestalt!" Already he could feel it whispering at the edges of his mind, despite his mental blocks.

Willow nodded and sprinted out of the room. She and Giles had researched the gestalt link and she had no desire to personally witness its power.

Spike gently stroked Xander's face, sending soothing thoughts to the younger male. _"Xan, love, it's all right," _he sent, inexpertly pushing past the wall of terror that Xander had erected in his mind. _"You're safe now; you're here with me." _

Xander's eyes darted frantically around the room, but his struggles slowly eased. The fear that battered Spike's mind faded as Xander calmed. Wary brown eyes met concerned azure as the cloudy, unfocused look dissipated from them. He licked dry lips and sent a hesitant _"Spike?" _

A huge smile broke out across the vampire's face and he kissed the younger man fiercely. _"I thought I'd lost you," _Spike responded, letting Xander feel the utter sense of loss and desperation he had experienced at the end of the Challenge.

Xander returned the kiss with equal fervour, a lone tear slipping down his cheek. _"I told you no one could keep the Xan-man down for long, remember?" _He drew back slowly, seeing the pent-up fear both in Spike's eyes and in his mind. _"How long was I out?" _

_"Four days. Four very long days. You were completely comatose for nearly three days and you've been under anesthesia since you came out of it." _

_"Well, I'm not going anywhere. You can't get rid of me that easily, Bleach boy," _Xander sent with a mental chuckle. His expression suddenly sobered, and he kissed Spike softly. _"Gods, I've missed you." _

Spike stroked his mate's cheek gently as he fought to control his emotions. _"I missed you too," _he replied. _"But if you ever put yourself in danger like that again, I'll kill you." _

"Mr. Stuart?" came the hesitant question from the doorway. A nurse stood with a syringe in her hand with Willow peering anxiously over her shoulder.

"We're all right now," Spike replied as he twisted around to face the two women. One hand remained on Xander's neck in a comforting gesture. Though the younger male had calmed enough to build up his shields again, Spike could still pick up his residual fear and uneasiness. "Xan was just disoriented when he woke up and was struggling. I didn't want him to accidentally hurt himself."

The nurse nodded and set the syringe on the counter next to Xander's file. "Doctor Monachelli will still want to take a look at you, but I'll leave this here in case you have trouble sleeping," she said. Fishing around in her lab coat pocket, she pulled out three pill bottles and set them on the counter after briefly checking the labels. "These are your medications; both the Prednisolone and the Clindamycin have refills approved, but only take the Demerol if you absolutely need it. The other two are a minor steroid and an antibiotic."

_"Plus a little vamp blood to speed up the process," _Spike sent. _"I want you back on your feet an' able to travel as soon as possible." _

_"Because of the prophecy?" _

Spike looked at him sharply. Xander couldn't possibly know about that yet! _"I thought we agreed not to pry for information," _he replied tightly. He hadn't felt Xander's probe, but the young telepath was far more experienced than the vampire.

_"I didn't probe; I got a message from the Powers while I was out. I'll fill you in once we're alone," _Xander sent defensively. Spike raised a curious eyebrow, but kept his silence. He was picking up a faint emotion that Xander couldn't quite suppress, though he wasn't experienced enough to identify it.

"We'll probably decrease your fluids tomorrow morning," the nurse continued, oblivious to the exchange between the two men. "Doctor Monachelli should be in shortly to check up on you. I believe he's looking at your post-op radiographs right now."

As the nurse finished speaking, the door opened to admit a tall, middle-aged man in a white lab coat. This wasn't the same doctor who had been treating Xander, Spike noticed. Instantly uneasy, the vampire shifted closer to his mate.

"Good to see that you're back among the living, Mr. Harris; I'm Doctor Monachelli," the man said with an easy smile. He reached out and gently brushed Xander's fingertips with his own, then shook Spike's and Willow's hands. "You must be William Stuart," he said, looking at Spike, "and you would be Miss..."

"Rosenburg," Willow supplied. "Willow Rosenburg. I'm one of Xander's friends." She had moved to sit next to Xander now that she was confident Spike had no objection to her presence.

Monachelli smiled. "It's great that you have so many supporters! I've notified your father and he said he should be here as soon as he can."

Spike felt Xander's disappointment at Dalton's absence and squeezed his hand gently. _"Daylight, love. I've been here since last night, but Dalton was needed back at the den. He'll be here as soon as the sun sets." _

Monachelli switched the viewing screen on and shuffled through several radiographs. "Right now I've some good news and some bad news," he said as he checked the label on a particular film. "Which would you rather have first?"

Xander glanced at Willow, then at Spike. "Might as well get the bad news over with," he replied, wincing as he shifted on the bed. "I mean, hey, at least I'm not dead! How bad could it be?"

"Well, have a look for yourself," said Monachelli. He slid a film onto the screen. "This is your spine before your surgery."

The sight sent chills down Spike's spine despite the fact that he'd seen the films before. Seeing them again was a terrifying reminder of Xander's mortality.

"Fortunately, it was only slightly cracked and the spinal cord was unharmed. A sealant was applied to the vertebrae, but it could still break if stressed," Monachelli explained, adding the post-op film to the screen. "You're a very lucky man, Mr. Harris. By all accounts, your spine should be broken," he said frankly. "You should thank whatever higher power you believe in that you're not dead."

Xander swallowed heavily. "I will."

The doctor replaced the films on the screen with two new ones. "This is your right arm; it was a clean break and I don't see any problems with it healing. Your father told me you had broken it before, so I want you to be careful with it from now on! Bones are more susceptible to fractures if they've been broken before," he said sternly.

"However, I'm more concerned about your left arm than your right one. The weapon tore the muscle in your shoulder. It's not fatal, we were able to stitch it up nicely, but I do want you in physical therapy when you've recovered enough," Monachelli continued. "I can tell you that arm will never be as strong or flexible as it was because of the extent of the muscle damage. I want you to be prepared for that, understand?"

"Yes, sir," Xander said, resting his head against Spike's arm for support. _"I didn't realise it was that bad," _he sent.

_"The doctors were amazed you hadn't suffered more permanent damage." _

"How long will he have to stay here?" Willow asked.

Monachelli leaned against the counter and regarded the trio thoughtfully. "It depends on how long his back takes to heal," he replied. "I'd say at least two months, then coming back twice a week for physical therapy and re-checks."

Spike cursed silently as he strengthened his mental shields to hide his frustration from Xander. He had wanted to get out of this godforsaken town as soon as possible and now his plans had been significantly delayed.

He checked his watch impatiently. Six-thirty. Dalton would probably arrive shortly, which would give Spike the chance to feed and check in on the translation progress. He was reluctant to leave Xander's side, but he needed to get his plans underway as quickly as possible. The uneasy feeling that they were running out of time only fueled his impatience and made him anxious to leave. Spike knew they were racing the clock, but he had yet to figure out what they were racing toward.

tbc...


	17. Heritage

**A/N: Short chapter; my apologies. More to come later, unless I blow up Market Basket. That job will be the death of me. **

Chapter Thirteen

"Ben, come here and take a look at this."

The vampire in question stirred and rubbed his eyes wearily. He had fallen asleep in front of the computer for the second time that night, a behaviour almost unheard of in his race. He and his team of handpicked individuals had been combing through volume after volume of ancient tomes in the lair during the day and searching the Internet at the Espresso Pump during the night. It had been nearly five days since any of them had slept.

Yawning, Ben hauled himself to his feet and stretched with his usual leonine grace. He moved to stand behind Cooper's computer and peered over her shoulder at the screen. The vampiress had scanned a copy of the prophecy into the computer and was running a search on the text. Most of the text had been highlighted in red, but a small portion was highlighted in blue.

"Ella was right when she said this was similar to Greek; in fact, everything in blue _is_ Greek," Cooper explained. "The red is an ancient language spoken by the warlike tribes of northern Greece."

"The Macedonians," Ben supplied. He had an uneasy feeling about where this was leading.

Cooper nodded. "Right, but check out what else I found." She minimized the window and brought her search engine up. "I cross-referenced the name Drypetis with ancient Macedon, and it turns out she was the wife of the king's second." She paused then lowered her voice to a volume that only vampire ears would pick up. "She was also rumoured to be a mind-reader."

Ben's eyes widened. "A telepath!"

"That's not all; guess who the king of Macedon was at this time: our young Master's namesake."

"Alexandros the Great!" Ben sank down into his chair. "You don't think this Drypetis was related to Xander, do you?"

Cooper shrugged. "It's a stretch. Just because they're both Greek telepaths doesn't necessarily mean anything."

"I know, but it's just a little too convenient that they not only have that in common, but have Spike as well." Ben rose to his feet. "Print out as much information as possible, including that coloured scan and info about King Alexandros and Drypetis' husband. We need Ella to translate more of that text!" He pulled on his jacket and hurried out the door.

* * *

He dived into the passenger seat of the waiting car and barked a sharp order to Fox to go to the hospital. He needed to get this new information to Spike as soon as possible.

Spike leaned against the wall and took a long drag on his cigarette. He had stopped by the den after his meal and found that little progress had been made in translating the prophecy. The news had only added fuel to his already unstable temper. After ranting and berating his hapless minions for nearly forty-five minutes, he stormed back to the hospital.

He exhaled slowly, smoke billowing around his head like an ominous storm cloud. He hated to feel as if he had no control over a situation and that control had been slowly slipping ever since the bloody prophecy had been discovered.

Spike could sense Xander awakening inside the hospital with Dalton and Red. At first the constant knowledge of what his mate was doing or thinking had unnerved him, but now it was an ability he valued. _"I'll be in soon, luv," _he sent, stomping his cigarette out under his boot.

_"'Kay," _came the sleepy response. There was an underlying feeling of discomfort surrounding Xander's presence and Spike was instantly concerned.

_"Tell Dalton to get the nurse; I can feel your pain." _He paused at Xander's sharp mental protest. _"Now's not the time to act noble, Xander. You're in pain and there's no reason for you to keep suffering!" _Xander's reluctant acquiescence came as more of a feeling than as actual words.

Spike padded into the hospital, nodding to the on-duty nurse as he headed to Xander's room. He fought the urge to sneeze as the strong scent of antiseptics hit his sensitive nose. Hospitals had never ranked high on his list of favourite places.

Dalton looked up as Spike entered and instantly rose to his feet to offer the other male a seat. Spike dismissed the offer with a brief wave and leaned in to nuzzle Xander's cheek. The telepath's scent was barely distinguishable from the various hospital smells that lingered around him. Spike purred softly, more as a comfort to himself than to Xander.

"The nurse gave him a mild sedative and analgesic," Dalton said quietly from his chair. "They'll probably start to kick in soon."

"They already are," replied Spike. He shielded his mind from Xander's as the waves of lassitude threatened to affect him as well. "He woke because of the pain, then?"

Willow nodded. "I think he was trying to block it so we wouldn't make him go back to sleep," she said. "He said he wanted to be awake when you came back."

Spike sat on the edge of the hospital bed, gaze remaining on his mate. "He needs rest more than anything. Knowing Xan, he'll push himself to his limits before he even thinks of askin' for help," he said.

Schooling his features into impassivity, he turned to Dalton. "Little progress has been made with the prophecy." His tone was almost accusing.

"I know, Master," Dalton replied, lowering his gaze submissively. "Our resources are limited and until we know what language the text is in, Ella can't finish translating it."

"Maybe we could help," came Willow's quiet suggestion.

Spike shifted to give the mortal his full attention. Flinching under his intense stare, Willow hurried on. "Well, Giles does have access to the Watcher's Council and all their information. If it'll help avoid an apocalypse, I'm sure he'd be willing to help."

Spike raised a dark eyebrow. "What makes you think we're trying to avoid an apocalypse?" he deadpanned.

Willow looked distinctly uncomfortable as she tried to brazen out Spike's silent threat. "Well, then I guess we'll just have to beat you to it," she replied, only a slight tremour in her voice betraying her nervousness.

The vampire chuckled. "You've certainly got a pair, Red," he purred. "Not many have the courage to openly Challenge a vampire like that." Reaching into an inner pocket of his duster, he pulled out several folded papers. "This is a copy of the text and Ella's notes. Whatever you and that Watcher can do with the soddin' thing would be a great help."

Warily, Willow took the papers and slid them into her bag. "So, you aren't really trying to bring about the apocalypse, right?"

"Nah, just havin' a bit of fun," he said with a grin. "An apocalypse would wipe out all mortal life. Where would we vamps be then?" He shook his head. "I'd rather not starve.

"You'd best be getting home now," he added as Willow tried to stifle a yawn. "Dalton here will take you. Thanks for staying with Xander; it meant a lot to him to have one o' his mates here."

Willow stood and shouldered her bag. "He's my friend; it was the least I could do to sit with him." She gave Spike a brief smile and touched Xander's hand before following Dalton out the door.

Spike turned back to his sleeping mate. A bit of colour had returned to Xander; the deathly grey pallour had begun to fade, much to Spike's relief. Purring softly, he leaned over and ghosted his lips across Xander's forehead before crawling into the now-vacant chair. He curled up and pillowed his head on the arm of the chair as he allowed himself to rest for the first time in days.

His rest was cut short by Xander's insistent mental shove. He opened a bloodshot blue eye and looked sleepily in the youth's direction. Raising himself up on one arm, he yawned and lowered his shields. "What's up, Xan? Feeling all right?"

"I'm fine," Xander replied, lifting his head for a kiss as Spike moved to sit on the edge of the bed. "Ben and Fox are here with new information."

"The prophecy?" Spike guessed. "You should probably do a transfer of that info the Powers gave you when they come in. I'm assuming you're caught up on the situation so far?"

Xander nodded. "I picked it up from you earlier; your privacy blocks still aren't that strong." Their link again. It seemed to Spike that he could no longer hide anything from his mate. Xander's abilities seemed to have been enhanced since the link had been formed, but Spike still remained mind-dead to all but the mortal. He almost wished he were a full telepath: it would make their link much easier.

Spike's thoughts were interrupted by the feeling of Xander's lips against his own. _"Being a telepath isn't all it's cracked up to be. I'll teach you how to block so you can have some semblance of privacy." _Without those blocks, it would be as if they shared one mind, each constantly picking up the other's thoughts. The result would be maddening for both vampire and human.

Reluctantly breaking the kiss, Spike sat back. "I just don't like feeling dependent on you," he replied.

Fox and Ben chose that moment to walk into the room. Neither male looked as if they'd slept at all since the Challenge. Fox took up a guard position by the door and crossed his arms over his chest. He had no form of weaponry visible, but Spike knew that the warrior would be a formidable opponent for any who provided a threat.

"We found something, sir," Ben said excitedly. "Cooper figured out the language and she also has information on Drypetis."  
Spike gestured for his second to sit. "Shut the door, Fox." The guard obeyed, then resumed his position. Spike gave him a curt nod, then turned back to Ben. "Now, details, if you would."

"The second language in the text is ancient Macedonian, the native tongue of the northern tribes of Greece. Drypetis was the wife of a Macedonian general, the king's second, to be exact. What's more important though, is that she was a telepath."

Spike's eyes widened at the implications. "And she's the one who wrote this prophecy."

Ben nodded. "Cooper and I both found it a bit too coincidental that she named you in the prophecy. You now have connections with not one, but two Greek telepaths."

"That means nothing. Besides, Xander's only half Greek."

"Not exactly," Xander commented, looking and feeling uncomfortable. "When I was unconscious, two of my ancestors came to me saying the Powers sent them. They said my mother was trying to hide what I really am. I'm fully Greek."

Spike's eyes glazed for a brief moment as Xander transferred the memories. "Who are these guys that want to hunt down your family?" he asked, slowly making sense of the multitude of information.

Xander shrugged, then winced as pain shot through his shoulder. "Alexandros wasn't specific; he was more concerned about the prophecy."

"Alexandros?" Ben squeaked. "That was your ancestor's name?" Spike had the impression that if vampires could pale in shock or fear, Ben would be the colour of freshly bleached sheets.

"Yeah," Xander replied with a sharp mental protest as Spike fussed over him. "He said that I should look for the royal sunburst or something like that."

"The royal sunburst," Ben repeated, still in shock. "Gods, boy; you're not Greek - you're Macedonian! You're the direct descendant of King Alexandros himself!"


End file.
